Time's Heart
by Zarra Rous
Summary: The Heart of Time is coming. There will be Fire in her wake. The Protector of the Storm will return to his side. Beware the Dark. Never Say Never Ever. Bad Wolf. 10Rose J/I AU/with Torchwood
1. Some Say

Time's Heart  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T  
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters, FlatIron Crossings Mall, Starbucks, Hot Topic, nor any other corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

_"Your friend. What was her name?"  
__"Her name was Rose."_

Donna never forgot the sorrow and pain she heard in the Doctor's voice that day. It lingered on in her memories, always in the back of her mind. She tried to help her friend, but despaired of him ever being truly happy ever again. So deeply had she become lost in thoughts that she failed to notice the TARDIS materializing behind the park bench she sat upon. So it was that she let out a startled scream and lurched forward off the bench onto her hands and knees, when the Doctor unexpectedly laid a hand on her shoulder.

Brown eyes filled with concern looked down on the red-head. "Are you alright?"

Donna looked up at him and smiled softly. "There you are. Where have you been?"

The Doctor laughed a little, sheepish, as he hauled his Companion to her feet. "I had a few things to do."

She raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"

His eyes darkened to nearly black in sorrowful remembrance. "It's been fifty years." He laughed once, the sound bitter. "For me at least."

Donna's voice was sympathetic, when she spoke. "It still hurts you, don't it? Just as much as the day we met."

The Doctor looked off into the distance as he nodded, his mind becoming distracted from his grief by an odd physic tingle. His eyebrows drew together in concentration as he felt out the silence of his mind for the answer. However the cause of the tickle eluded him.

"Doctor, what is it?"

With his concentration shattered, he shook his head and smiled softly at her. "Something feels off." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Not important though. I'm sure it'll come to me later." Opening the door behind him he gestured her in. "So, ready for our next great adventure?"

Donna quirked a smile as she moved past him into TARDIS. "America?"

Closing the door, he stood and watched as she sat down in the jump seat near the main console. "Where and when?"

The redhead was silent for a moment as she stared at the central column in contemplation. "Don't care where. Old West?"

"In that case," he said as he moved quickly around the controls, "Colorado."


	2. The World

Time's Heart  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T  
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters, FlatIron Crossings Mall, Starbucks, Hot Topic, nor any other corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: Thank you for the Jelly Baby's, I Lost My Profile Page. Just the thing to inspire continued writing. And thank you to all the rest on my reviewers too. I just love you all to pieces. Evol d'na eca'ep.

XThisIsALineX

_The redhead was silent for a moment as she stared at the central column in contemplation. "Don't care where. Old West?"  
__"In that case," he said as he moved quickly around the controls, "Colorado."_

However where and when the TARDIS materialized was not exactly Old West Colorado. It was a place that was more aptly described as a disserted back corridor of a shopping mall.

The Doctor slowly closed the door as he pulled his head back into TARDIS. "Ereh'w eht kerf era ew won?" Muttering to himself in his native tongue, he made his way back to the control console. "Where have you taken us now old girl?" He fiddled with dials and knobs until the information he wanted appeared on the display screen. He let out a short laugh just as his Companion walked into the room.

"Is there a problem?"

The Doctor looked over his companion with a critical eye. Her long dark green skirt and jacket combination was a bit old fashioned for the time period. But since, according to TARDIS, the national stock-show or some such was going on, hopefully it wouldn't attract too much attention. He shrugged. "We're not exactly when I was aiming for." He squinted at the screen through his glasses, his nose scrunched up. Which, though the situation was serious, made his Companion want to laugh. When he made faces like that he looked like an adorable little boy. "We are about one hundred and," he paused to double check the numbers, "fifty years or so, too late for the Old West. But, it looks like we did make the stock show." He shrugged with one shoulder. "If you want to go to that. It is an option."

Donna arched a disbelieving eyebrow. "Stock? As in farm animals?"

He nodded distracted by the words of the TARDIS being whispered in his mind. "Horses, cows, cattle that is, umm, chickens and pigs and the like." In a move that surprised Donna, he edged away from the panel he was working on, casting it a dark, mistrusting look. "Oon ii ma ton. U-oy wonk tah't."

"Doctor?"

Theta stared at his companion blankly for a dozen heartbeats before blinking several times. He lifted his chin, his eyes wide as he worried his top lip and took in a sharp breath through his nose. He scanned the control room before settling his eyes back on the same panel. Sighing he addressed the glowing central column. "You were never this difficult before Rose got into your heart." His head tipped to one side as he listened to his ships reply. Tears filled his eyes as he smiled softly. "Ii wonk. Ii s'sim reh o-ot." He nodded and turned back to his companion, his tears hidden behind a false smile. "Well, ready to go then, off into the wild unknown expanse that is known as an American shopping mall in the early twenty-first century?"

Though worried, Donna returned his grin with a genuine one of her own. "Lead on Sunshine."

As he followed the redhead out the door, Theta paused, one foot posed at the edge of the threshold, one hand on the door itself. He spoke softly, barely louder than a whisper. "We'll talk when I get back, devoleb ret'sis."

With one last soft caress to his mind TARDIS closed the door as he walked away. Sighing to herself, she activated her passive scanners and settled down to wait.

XThisIsALineX

Petite Sarah Carnsworth stared at her adversary, her green eyes narrowed. She was determined to not give in, to not be beat.

"Staring at it is not going to make the price go down."

Sarah let out a startled shriek as her employer spoke into her ear, the soft Irish lilt of her voice tinged with amusement. Looking up at the taller brunette, she pouted in annoyance. "How many times do I have to ask you not to do that Ma'am?"

The older woman smirked, her dark eyes filled with amusement. She smoothed down the front of her crimson microsuade trench coat, before silently reaching into a pocket and offering the contents to her Companion. "Have a banana."

Sarah sighed in consternation. "What is it with you and your family's obsession with banana's?"

The brunette grinned. "There is nothing wrong with banana's. They are just bursting with usefulness and potassium."

Sarah rolled her eyes and made a small sound that could be taken as either agreement or disbelief.

Her employer just laughed joyfully as she devoured her treat, carefully slipping the peel back into an inner pocket for later use. She smirked at the look of disgust on her Companion's face. "Never know when those'll come in handy." Putting a hand on the shorter girl's arm she steered her away from the Goth-rock clothing and out of Hot Topic, into the mall proper. "Come on there's a Starbucks up on the next level and I could really go for a Chai right about now."

Sarah laughed as she was pulled through the post-Christmas crowds towards the stairs to the upper level. "You're addicted."

"Of course. A hot infusion of free floating radicals and tannin in latte form. What more can an almost two hundred year old ask for?" She dodged a stroller with a quick side step, spinning in a happy circle, before resuming her course through the crowd, leaving her Companion to follow at her own pace. "It's good for the synap…" Her words cut off with a startled squeak.

"Ma'am?" Sarah laughed when she caught sight of her mistress. It was obvious that she had collided with someone, as the gentleman in question, was currently holding her in a dip at the base of the stairs.

As for the Doctor, he was very surprised to find himself with an arm full of slender female. He had been chasing an alien of as of yet undetermined origins, who had had the audacity to snatch his Companion, when he had run into the woman who was currently in his arms. In an effort to prevent falling he had quickly wrapped his arms around her and twisted into a dip. Eyes as dark as his own blinked up at him in what appeared to be startled recognition. Pulling her back to her feet he absently noted that she was dressed in black velvet. When she was upright he was pleased to note that she was barely shorter than him.

He met her eyes, prepared to apologize when he gasped as the sensation of a light appearing in the darkness, flared into life in his mind. His arms tightened until they were pressed together forehead to toes, her hands trapped between them, still clutching his lapels.

And he knew. In that one brilliant instance he _knew_.

XThisIsALineX

next : _If I believe in one thing, just one thing, I believe in _her


	3. Will End

Time's Heart  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T  
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, FlatIron Crossings Mall, Starbucks, Hot Topic, nor any other corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: I hope that you like this. The Doctor's vision is in chronological order, even when it splits into the two timelines. All of the original quotes will be in later parts of the story. Enjoy. Oh, and if you wanted to know about what the Doctor is saying in his 'native tongue' the clue is 'English'.

XThiIsALineX

_And he knew. In that one brilliant instance he _knew_._

"I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself."

"I have got a mole. I can feel it. Between the shoulder blades. There's a mole. That's all right. Love the mole. Come on then. Tell me. What do you think?"

"If I believe in one thing, just one thing, I believe in _her_."

"Gravity-smavity. My people practically invented Black Holes. Well in fact they did."

"Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth."

"I love you."

"I suppose if it's my last chance to say it. Rose Tyler…"

"I found the key."

"Well sometimes I have guests, and some friends who travel along side me. I had, it was recently, a friend of mine. Rose, her name was Rose, and we were together. Anyway. … With her family. Happy. She's fine. She's … Not that you're replacing her. Just one trip, to say thanks. You get just one trip and then it's back home. I'd rather be alone."

"Do you hear that Rose? The babies are going to be all right now. So, don't you give up. No daughter of mine is going to give up. You hear that Rose. Don't you dare give up. The Doctor needs you. And so do those babies of his."

"There's something I'm missing Martha. Something really close. Staring me right in the face and I can't see it. Rose would know. The friend of mine, Rose, right now she'd say exactly the right thing."

"I miss him. I miss him so much."

"There was a war. A Time War. The last great Time War. My people fought a race called the Daleks for the sake of all creation, and they lost. They lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now, my family, my friends, even that sky. Ah, you should have seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the south, the mountains would shine. "

"This picture? Oh, that's your father. He's called the Doctor."

"Falling in love? That didn't occur to him? Then what sort of man is that? And now you expect me to die?"

"I am Rassilon."

"She's gone Jack. She's not just living on a parallel world. She's trapped there. The walls have closed."

"Rotcod. Eht Traeh fo Emit si gnimoc. Ereht lliw eb Erif ni reh ekaw. Eht Rotcetorp fo eht Mrots lliw nruter ot sih edis. Eraweb eht Krad. Reven Yas Reven Reve. Dab flow."

"Okay, vanity. Sorry. Yeah, can't help it. Used to be a poster boy when I was a kid, living on the Boeshane peninsula. Tiny little place. I was the first one to ever be signed up for the Time Agency. They were so proud of me. The 'Face of Boe', they called me. I'll see you."

"You must be new here. I'm called Theta. If you need any help getting around just let me know."

"Well you're not going to mate with me Sunshine."

"You can't just steal a TARDIS. It's insanity. Theta, they'll banish you."

"Don't leave me alone."

"I hate goodbyes. That's why I try never to say them. Rather say 'see you later.' And we will see you later, though it be many years from now. You are the best mate I've ever had and my sister thinks so too. And you know what? We were fantastic the three of us. Absolutely fantastic."

"900? No really. How old are you?"

"Ma'am?"

XThisIsALineX

"Ma'am!"

The Doctor stood in stunned silence as the younger Time Lord tore away from him crying out her Companion's name as she turned and ran. Giving his head a shake to clear it, he remembered belatedly that his own Companion had been kidnapped in like fashion. Pulling his sonic screwdriver from his pocket he gave chase. Quickly catching up to her, he reached out and grabbed hold of her hand. She shot him a startled look before threading their fingers together.

"Hello."

"Theta. What are you doing here?"

He flashed her his brightest smile. "Chasing our errant Companions, or so it would seem."

She arched an eyebrow and frowned at him. "They took yours too?"

He nodded, carefully maneuvering them around a passing group of teenagers. "Donna. She's a loud mouth redhead from early twenty-first century London."

"Sarah. Quiet, tiny little thing. Redhead also. Late twenty-second century London. You'd like her grandmother. She reminds me of you actually."

Slowing, they came to a halt directly in front of the malls play area for children. They turned in a quick circle, but all that they could see were a few shoppers and parents chasing after toddlers.

Their quarry had vanished.

XThisIsALineX


	4. In Fire

Time's Heart  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T  
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, FlatIron Crossings Mall, Starbucks, Hot Topic, nor any other corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: There has been confusion expressed about the quotes, so let me explain. The quotes are mainly the Doctor speaking or other characters, like Jackie, Rose, Thera, and her brother, who hasn't been properly introduced yet. As I said in the AN in the previous chapter the non-series quotes are all going to be used later in the story which is part of why I didn't reveal who was speaking. The last quote however was Sarah right before the scene at the end of chapter two. The quotes are all things the Doctor sees/remembers when he and Thera psychically touch for the first time. It's all relevant.

XThisIsALineX

__

Slowing, they came to a halt directly in front of the malls play area for children. They turned in a quick circle, but all that they could see were a few shoppers and parents chasing after toddlers. Their quarry had vanished.

Dropping the Doctor's hand the young woman began to fiddle with her sonic screwdriver. After a moment she shoved it back into her pocket with an expletive that would have made even the Doctor blush if it had been in a language that he understood.

Laughing, he scanned the area with his own before shrugging. "I think that what we really need in a situation as apparently hopeless as this, is the sensors of the TARDIS. Now I know that mine is all the way on the other side of the shopping…" His voice trailed off as he noticed how distressed she was becoming. Reaching out for her, he pulled her into a hug. Brushing his fingertips across her temple allowed him to send her calming thoughts and emotions. After a moment, she sighed and sagged against him.

"You don't play fair Theta."

Theta rocked her for a moment, a grin on his lips. "Of course not Thera. After all I learnt half of it from you."

She laughed into his shoulder. "Which is ironic really because technically speaking," she paused, "What is the date?"

"Mid-January, the nineteenth or twentieth I think. 2009."

"Okay. So, what that means is that technically, according to the present time stream, I was born about fifteen months ago. Even though according to my personal timeline I'm one hundred seventy-eight. Give or take a year or two."

The Doctor pulled away from her, confusion drawing his eyebrows together. "How is that possible? We went to school together. You and Theseus entered the Academy only three months after I did. Not to mention that Gallifrey burned an eternity ago."

Thera shook her head unwilling to answer questions in their current circumstances. "I'll explain later, when we are not in public. Right now though we need to get into one or the other of our ships and find our Companions."

Seeing the sense in this he nodded. "Later." He clapped his hands together and smiled again. "So, your TARDIS or mine?"

"Mine." Thera was relieved that he dropped the subject of her birth. She was confused and upset with herself for even mentioning it. "She's inside. She's in that open area across from the main stairs." Taking his hand once more she lead him back the way they had come.

"I've been all throughout this place, how come I didn't notice it earlier. Normal perception filters for TARDIS's don't usually work on Time Lords, just the locals."

Thera's step faltered for a moment. "I'm not sure why you didn't notice her. She's fairly conspicuous. She's done up like a library exhibit."

"What prompted you to…" The Doctor was cut off when Thera gave a shout and started running. As his options were to drop her hand or follow, he chose the most logical and least likely to cause him pain option, and fell into step beside her.

"Oy! No touching the exhibit."

The group of five middle aged men turned at her shout, backing away from the blue Police call box.

Coming to a stop in front of them, she glared, her free hand digging around in her pocket. "As a representative of Comic Relief, the Royal Library and the National Library of Ireland, I must ask you to not touch the exhibit."

A balding gentleman in his forty's stepped forward. "What exhibit?"

Thera glared at him and shoved her psychic paper into his face. "Colleen McCrimmon, curator, National Library, Dublin, Ireland. I am here in conjunction with Comic Relief, the British Royal Library, and the University of Edinburgh, to promote our literacy programs. This exhibition is a collection of works by international artists, representing their favorite literary works. This exhibit was supposed to have been set up with you and your people nearly a year ago. It isna my fault if you canna keep track of your visitors schedules. This exhibit was scheduled to arrive today and so here it is. I am on time with my arrival and the exhibition set-up. This is only here for one week and frankly I expected better treatment than this upon my arrival."

A thick Scotch brogue fell from the Doctor's lips as he tugged Thera into a hug and called her pseudonym. "Colleen calm yerself. Getting upset with these fine gentlemen, will not help anything." Pulling away he released her hand and placed his own on her cheek. "Why don't you go and look for the papers in that box of yours while I get these fine gentlemen up to speed on the exhibit."

That the human men could not see her face, allowed Thera to stick her tongue out in a moment of childish pettiness.

Theta smiled and arched an eyebrow. "Devoleb evaheb."

Rolling her eyes, she nodded. "All right, but you owe me a Chai for this."

He smiled and giving her a quick squeeze, released her. "After this I'll get you as many as you like. Now get." As soon as she had vanished behind the door of her TARDIS, he turned back to the glaring business men. "It may take her a few minutes to find those papers. So how about we act all friendly-like and make introductions and polite chit-chat. I'll even go first." Pulling out his own psychic paper, he gave it a quick check before showing it to the other men. "Professor James McCrimmon, Literature department, University of Edinburgh. I am here on behalf of his Highness the prince of Wales. His Highness is very interested in promoting literacy programs such as this. As is your own president. Just elected weren't they?"

A grey haired black man who appeared to be in his fifties answered. "John Richards. Vice-president in charge of security. Yes. Our new president is very willing to aid causes such as this. takes the oath of office tomorrow actually."

"Well good for you lot then. Change over of power is always an exciting time, don't you think? Anyways the Exhibit. If you would read the plaque on the door you will see that this piece here is an artists conceptualization of a fictional blue box in real life." Stepping up to the TARDIS's door, he placed a hand on it's grainy surface and started reading the plaque out loud. "'The Magic Box' as envisioned by the TARDIS crew. This work was created in honor of one of the greatest works of science fiction in published history. _A Journal of Impossible Things _by John Smith, edited by Joan Redfern, published by Collins Press, London, 1916. Oh." The Doctor took a deep breath and cleared his throat before continuing. He still felt guilty for the whole debacle that had taken place in 1913. He still halfway wished that there had been some other way for it to have been resolved. "The magic box as envisioned by the author, John Smith, is an extraordinary vehicle which conveys the readers to the farthest reaches of Time and Space during the Ten incarnations of the main character, known simply as the Doctor. The Doctor is a tragic figure with a gregarious heart and a darkly troubled past, who tries to help all that he meets. Along with his faithful Companions, the reader will be taken through the many joys and sorrows of the Doctor as he loves and loses all that he holds dear."

Mister Richards smiled softly in sympathy as he saw a tear slid down the other mans cheek. He hadn't realized it until _he_ had read the plaque that this was the same man who had saved his life nearly thirty years prior when he was a child. Even though his face had changed, the Doctor was unforgettable. "That sounds like a wonderful book Doctor. I'll make sure that all the necessary security arrangements are double checked and in place as was agreed."

"Thank you." Theta ached an eyebrow and stared at the other man. A moment later, he jerked in surprise, when the TARDIS door opened suddenly. "Oh. There you are. Did you find your paperwork?"

"Yup." Taking a quick look at the other Time Lord she laid a hand on his arm in concern. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah."

She arched an eyebrow and promptly used the arm that she was holding to pull him inside her ship. "Now get in you." Smiling brightly she moved outside, calling back in behind her, "Coffee's in the kitchen."

XThisIsALineX


	5. Some Say In Ice

Time's Heart  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T  
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, FlatIron Crossings Mall, Starbucks, Hot Topic, nor any other corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: Hmm… I'm not feeling loved. Where are my bananas? Please feed my brain with bananas. It would most dearly appreciate that and then maybe I'd feel more loved. I like bananas. Well here's the next one then.  
And Thank You most lovely DoctorWhoLover for your kind words. May you never run out of bananas.

XThisIsALineX

__

She arched an eyebrow and promptly used the arm that she was holding to pull him inside her ship. "Now get in you." Smiling brightly she moved outside, calling back in behind her, "Coffee's in the kitchen."

Closing the ship's door, she smiled sweetly at the gathered men. She held out the plain manila folder that she now held, to whomever would take it. "Here are the copies of the paperwork."

John Richards carefully took it from her and passed it on to one of the others. "You go see to the Doctor. I'll make sure that this is all straightened out."

Thera nodded. "Thank you." She leaned back against the doors of her Type 40 as the five men looked over the paperwork. After several sideways glances and head shakes, they all turned and smiled at her.

The man that she had originally confronted, held out a hand to shake hers. He merely continued to smile nonplussed when she refused. "Myles Openhaus. Vice-President in charge of mall operations. All of your paperwork appears to be in order. We apologize for any inconvenience. If there is anything either you or Professor McCrimmon need, please do not hesitate to contact our offices."

Thera gave him a pained smile. "I'll be sure to do that. Good day gentlemen. If you don't mind, I need to find my assistant and get set up for the delivery of the rest of the exhibit."

"Of course." Motioning to the others, Openhaus moved off. "Gentlemen lets leave the good professor to her work. Have a good day Miss McCrimmon."

John Richards stayed behind as the others moved away, headed back to their offices. Turning slightly he watched as the young woman sneered and made a quiet comment about 'stupid apes.' Unable to help himself, he laughed, drawing her attention back to him.

"So, what prompted you to stay?" Thera's sneer was gone, replaced with an expression of polite curiosity.

The middle-aged man smiled softly. "I'm sorry for laughing. You just sounded so much like the Doctor right then." Though her expression didn't change he could see the shifting chaos of a storm in her eyes. Eyes that were so much like the Doctor's.

"You know the Doctor."

It was stated as a fact, not a question, but Richards nodded anyways. "It's hard to forget someone who saves you from killer robots when you're a kid. Different face, same man. I'd know him anywhere. No one has eyes quite like that, except you."

Thera laughed softly, relaxing her stance, sagging a little against the comforting solidity of her ship. "He is unique."

Richards nodded his agreement. "He is at that. You are a lot like him."

She stood and held out a hand to the human. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm the Scribe."

He took her hand and gave it a firm shake, amazed at how cool her flesh was. "John Richards. The pleasure is all mine I assure you. It is an honor to meet a member of the Doctor's family."

"Figured that out did ya?" At his nod, she laughed. Winking at him, a wicked grin on her face, she pulled out her sonic screwdriver. "Want to see something fantastic?"

Not waiting for a reply she started to fiddle with the settings, while she sent out a mental query. At the TARDIS's soft psychic caress, she activated the homing beacon in the screwdriver, drawing the Doctor's ship to her.

XThisIsALineX

The short hop was silent. The TARDIS know as _Verity_ simply shifted the thousand or so feet without activating her main drive systems. Why waste power after all. She had been feeling the draw of her sister/daughter for hours and had understood _Sardit_'s garbled and barely lucid request that she should wait to move closer to her side. Her Theta just wasn't quite ready yet to be faced with the truth of her sister/daughter or her Lady just yet. It was enough for him to believe that someone else had survived, TARDIS intact. The rest she knew, would come in time just as their Lady, Bad Wolf had foreseen.

XThisIsALineX

"So what did you think? Fantastic isn't it?" Thera was practically bouncing in her seat, as she sipped her Chai Latte at a table just outside of the first floor Starbucks.

John Richards just smiled indulgently at the girl. Even though he was fairly sure she was older than himself, he could not help but to compare her to his teenage daughter. "It was. Although I have a question that I hope you don't mind my asking."

"What is it?"

"What are you?"

Thera smiling, took no offence as she realized that the reason behind the question was pure curiosity. Her voice was wistful when she replied with a great deal more detail than he had asked for. "A Time Lord. The Shining World of the Seven Systems is what they called my peoples planet. Two suns in a burnt orange sky, over fields of red grass and silver forests. When the suns set it was as though the world were on fire. There in the mountains of Solace and Solitude, stood the Citadel of the Time Lords, under a great dome of glass. It was there that I went to Academy. It was there that I looked into the Untempered Schism, the very face of Time itself and was inspired." She gave a blissful sigh, her eyes seeing only the world she was raised on and not her conversation partner. "Gallifrey." Her expression faded into a deep sorrow. "It's all gone now. Burnt. My people were in a war. We lost. The Doctor and my family are the last of the Time Lords. Just as our children will be the last. Gallifrey is gone and will never come again. We are alone." Blinking, she shook her head and gave a soft laugh. "I talk too much, that's part of why I took the name Scribe. I'm a historian."

Richards smiled sympathetically at the grieving girl. He couldn't even begin to fathom the depth of pain her family must be going through. "I don't mind. I'm always willing to help the Doctor and his family. If you don't mind another question?" At her nod, he continued. "How old are you?"

This startled a laugh and a genuine smile out of the young Time Lord. "Now that is an impertinent question young man." She held up a finger, laughter dancing in her dark eyes. "But I will answer it anyways. I am one hundred seventy eight, give or take a year or two."

"And the Doctor?"

"What about me?"

Richards started as the Doctor slid into the chair next to him.

"John was just asking how old you were Doctor."

"903, give or take."

Thera snorted, trying not to laugh. "That's a lie if I've heard one."

Theta tried a look of innocence which faded into a blush as the other two laughed at him. Rolling his eyes he took a deep draught of his tea, a decent blend of Earl Grey. "All right. So maybe I've taken a few centuries off. I'm old. I'm allowed to do things like that."

"So. Spill."

His answer was muffled by his Starbucks cup.

"I'm sorry. I didn't hear that my dear Doctor." Thera arched her eyebrow with a smirk.

Theta sighed again as he set his cup down. "Thirteen hundred and sixteen. More or less."

"Meaning?"

Rolling his eyes again, Theta took another long drink of his tea. "Accurate to within a year or two. When you're my age you tend to not keep track. My TARDIS would know the exact number. The only reason I even remember that I am over thirteen is because she quite happily informed me of it a few years back. Although I must say that it was rather rude of her. She's not supposed to be rude, that's my job. Rude and not ginger, that's me. Besides, no one likes to be told that they are getting old. Especially not that old. Speaking of age, your TARDIS, little missy, looks like a teenagers bedroom. I mean honestly, 'Arabian Nights.' What sort of desktop theme is that? At least in my own TARDIS I don't feel like I need to be breaking out nail polish and wearing pink frilly things. How can you possibly live like that? I mean not that I have anything against pink really. Rose's room is pink after all. Rose looks really good in pink too actually." Shaking his head to clear that provocative thought, he continued. "Pink frilly things aside. Your TARDIS even acts like a teenager. And she wouldn't stop giggling. Do you know how disconcerting it is to have a TARDIS giggling at you?"

XThisIsALineX

AN2: The Doctor's true age is questionable, but he really is over 903, given that in his Seventh incarnation he is quoted saying that he is "exactly 953." And given that that was three incarnations ago, I felt that adding 350+ years was not unreasonable. Thank you. Please review.


	6. From what

Time's Heart  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T  
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, FlatIron Crossings Mall, Starbucks, Hot Topic, nor any other corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: OMG I love my reviewers. Thank you so much for your kind words, they just made my day. Well, I know that this really isn't all that much longer than the last chapter, but it is where I had it broken in my handwritten notebook. Which is where I keep this when I'm not typing it up. Which I think is me just babbling again. Hope you don't mind. On with the story then.

XThisIsALineX

__

"Pink frilly things aside. Your TARDIS even acts like a teenager. And she wouldn't stop giggling. Do you know how disconcerting it is to have a TARDIS giggling at you?"

Thera held up a hand and made a shushing noise to interrupt what sounded like the beginning, or rather middle, of a rather long-winded rant. "Enod. Enod. No more. Please no more."

Theta blinked at her, his mouth open as though to continue. Closing his jaw with a snap, he nodded. "Sorry."

Thera smiled softly at him. "So did you get the scans started?" When he shook his head in negation, she cursed quietly. "Kerf. I was hoping that she would feel better by now. The dimensional crossing was very hard on her systems. I'm afraid _Sardit_ is going to be useless unless we can get her to Cardiff. We're going to have to use your TARDIS to find the girls."

Richards interrupted before the Doctor started talking again. "You have people missing?"

"Yes our Companions." Theta leaned forwards in his seat. "If you know anything about it…"

The human nodded. "As a matter of fact, I do have information. Over the course of the last two weeks eleven red haired women aged sixteen to fifty-three have been kidnapped. None of them know the others. There are no connections beyond their hair."

"Thirteen now. Both Sarah and Donna are ginger." The Doctor sat back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at his cuppa tea.

"I've never heard of anything like this before. In all the books that I've read and places I've been, though admittedly few, I've never seen or heard mention of something the like."

"Unfortunately I have." Theta took a sip and made a face at his now lukewarm tea. "There's this small little mudball of a planet on the outer rim of the Milky Way, that likes girls with ginger hair. Every two hundred years or so they have a massive planet-wide celebration for the anniversary of their Goddess' birth. Apparently, from what I can recall, they go out to neighboring systems and gather together about two dozen or so redheads and take them home with them."

"And then what?"

Theta shrugged. "Don't know. The last time I heard anything about it, was during my first incarnation. I think I was about three hundred or so at the time. It was right before I was exiled actually. Embarrassing bit of work that. Eh't yl'lof fo h'tu'oy. Anyways the only reason we took any notice of it really, was because they accidentally snatched a Time Lord. Oh was she angry. And the whole of the Council was up in arms over it. Female Gallifreyans are precious commodities after all."

"Only two percent of the population was female."

"Exactly. So John Richards you can see why we'd be upset. Of course that would be helpful information if I could remember what they were called."

Richards smiled. "That could be an issue. So is it going to be old fashioned detective work then?"

Thera shrugged. "It all depends on whether or not they've removed Sarah's bio-locator." And she sincerely hoped not because they made things so much easier when your Companion had no inborn sense of direction.

"You're using those?" The Doctor's voice was filled with curiosity. He'd heard of the little bracelet-like ident-tags. With how easy it was to remove TARDIS keys, he had thought about getting a supply for use with his Companions. "I've always just used the keys as locators. Do they work very well? I've always wanted to find out."

She laughed in reply. "Oh do they ever. Especially when you've fused the clasp shut so that absent-minded Companions can't get them off without a lot of work."

"So there is a way to find them."

"Yes. Possibly. It all depends on if Sarah is still wearing it and if your TARDIS will help."

The elder Time Lord stood and stretched. "Nothing like a good cuppa tea to rejuvenate ones mind. We should get to my TARDIS and get started on those scans."

The elder human stood as well, "And I should be getting back to my own work. I'll let you know if there's any other developments."

"Thank you."

"Good afternoon. Doctor. Scribe." With that John Richards walked away leaving the two Time Lords alone.

XThisIsALineX

Late that night, the Doctor found his old friend curled up under a plush blanket in a cushy chair, pounding away on what looked to be a touch screen keyboard, while staring intently at her _Sardit_'s main display screen. "Come on darling, give me that diagnostic." A few moments later the keyboard and its stylus went flying as she threw it across the room with a wordless cry of frustration.

"Not going well I take it."

Glaring at him she entangled herself from her blanket, before it too was flung across the room. "This _gorram _piece of _go-se _is being a _baka_. She has lost her _kuso_ mind."

Quietly retrieving her keyboard and stylus, he smiled affectionately at his childhood companion. It was so wonderful to feel another of his kind in his mind again. And even with the apparent damage to her old Type 40, it was nice to hear his own language coming un-translated from someone else. "I see you've picked up a couple more languages since we last met."

Thera glared at him over the rim of her tea cup, that she had retrieved from its hiding spot under her chair. "I spent a few year hidden away in the library of Forbidden City. The Emperor liked to think that I was a bright, lovely little foreign scribe that he'd been gifted with. He was probably a bit unhappy when I vanished out from under his nose. And then I made friends with one of the concubines in Takatsu Palace in Osaka. Spent a few years there too. The Emperor thought it a great novelty to have a goddess puttering around his library."

"Well you always did like your books." Studying the keyboard in his hands, he popped it open with an arched eyebrow and a frown. The system was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Built similarly to a human notebook PC, it folded open with the standard roman block letters and symbol keys, and plasma screen. When he closed it again, one side lit up, revealing a touch screen covered in the full set of basic equations and symbols that made up the written language of Gallifrey. "First-class piece of technology. Where'd you pick it up?"

"Built it and the sonic stylus." She shrugged with a sigh. "With a little help from my nephew." Taking the keyboard back from him. She shrugged again as she hugged the PC to her chest. "Tech is much better at dealing with this sort of thing than I am." At the Doctor's questioning look, she smiled sorrowfully and explained a little of it. " Tech is my niece's son. My elder brother died in the Time War. My niece was exiled before it and never went back. Jumped dimensions even to get away from the Council." She placed her burden carefully on the seat that she had vacated. Picking up her mug again, she shrugged again as she stared into its depths, a self-depreciating smile on her lips. "Council never really liked our family very much. Said that we interfered more than we should."

Theta let out a humorless laugh. "Sounds like my dealings with the Council when I was young. They said I wrong, I said the same about them. I ended up exiled for a few centuries. I would have crossed dimensions like your niece, but it never really occurred to me. _Verity _never would have stood for it anyways." He took a deep breath and gave a hard look at the control console, twirling the stylus between his fingers. "So how much needs to be fixed?"

"Nearly everything." Her expression darkened in pain. "Her personality matrix has been scrambled, her drive systems have been fried, she can't even dematerialize, let alone handle exposure to the Vortex. It's going to take months to fix, but only if we can get it to the rift in Cardiff." She ran her hands through her short hair mussing it in her frustration. "I'm just lucky that the chameleon circuit and the auxiliary power systems are still functional. I almost got the communication systems back up, before it went and fried another part of itself."

Theta nodded in sympathy. He could still remember very well the feel of panic and pain when his beloved TARDIS _Verity_, had gone offline and nearly died crossing to Pete's World. _Sardit _wasn't nearly so bad off, but she was close. He hated to involve outsiders, but he had a feeling that it was the only way to get her TARDIS to a secure location over the rift. "I know someone, a friend, who may be able to help with transporting her to Cardiff. He'll want to know the reason of course." Noticing that she was staring blankly at the silent central drive column, he gently pulled her into his arms. Rocking her as he would a distressed child, allowed him the contact and time he needed to look at the diverging timeline that he had seen when they had first touched.

XThisIsALineX


	7. I've Tasted

Time's Heart  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T  
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, FlatIron Crossings Mall, Starbucks, Hot Topic, nor any other corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: Enter Torchwood. And to answer the question placed about Thera and her niece… They both spent the bulk of their lives on the other side of the void. Thera's niece to get away from the Gallifreyan Council and Thera because that is where her mother is. This chapter explains a great deal about it actually… well a bit. There is more to come as I wend my way through the two timelines. Enjoy.

XThisIsALineX

__

"I know someone, a friend, who may be able to help with transporting her to Cardiff. He'll want to know the reason of course." Noticing that she was staring blankly at the silent central drive column, he gently pulled her into his arms. Rocking her as he would a distressed child, allowed him the contact and time he needed to look at the diverging timeline that he had seen when they had first touched.

A hospital room plain and white with hints of blue. A beeping heart monitor, sounding off at an abnormally fast rate for a human. A fragile looking woman dwarfed by the bed she lay on. The Torchwood logo was embroidered into her gown, just over the left side of her chest.

Jackie Tyler sat in silent vigil over the young woman, one hand on the heavy swell of her belly, the other threaded into the girl's hair. Her face was lined with exhaustion as her eyes rested on the bassinet at the foot of the bed that should have held her grandchildren, but sat empty instead. The twins were instead laying in incubation chambers in isolation, their tiny little hearts struggling to keep them alive. According to young Toshiko Sato they were nearly five months premature, even though they had been born almost a year and a half after their mother had conceived them. The medical expert was convinced that the reason that they were so early was because they didn't belong in this universe. She was convinced that there was some sort of key to the whole… key? Jackie lurched to her feet as a notion popped into her head. Mickey and Rose still had their TARDIS keys. Before she could stop herself, she hit the button to bring Tosh running.

And run she did. Any call regarding the woman that the majority of Torchwood adored would bring her running. Tosh remembered when Rose had first arrived, so heartbroken and fragile because of her hidden pregnancy and separation from her mate. She had felt as if she owed it to the other woman to do all she could to save her as she had saved the universe. She also felt accountable in view of the fact that she had failed to notice the pregnancy in the first place.

Bursting through the door, she skidded to a halt, startled to see that the only thing wrong was that Mrs. Tyler was on her feet. "What's wrong? Is it the baby?"

Jackie shook her head. "No. I found the key. Keys actually. Rose and Mickey have keys to the Doctor's TARDIS. What if the babies wear them? They're from the other universe, right? And TARDIS is the Doctor's ship right? So maybe the keys can help since they're part of it."

Tosh's face lit up as she ran the idea through her head. "It might. It just might at that. And if we move them into the Rift room, the keys should be stronger. Rose did say that the rift was the TARDIS's fuel source." She hugged Jackie in delight, before she ran out the door calling over her shoulder, "Mrs. Tyler you're brilliant."

Jackie carefully lowered herself back into her chair, a bright smile on her face. "Do you hear that Rose? The babies are going to be all right now. So, don't you give up. No daughter of mine is going to give up. You hear that Rose. Don't you dare give up. The Doctor needs you." She gasped as a sudden contraction ripped through her belly. "And so do those babies of his."

XThisIsALineX

When Jack had woken up that morning after a very rare night of sleep, the last thing he expected was to be greeted by a woman singing Lullaby in the Central Hub. He also did not expect to see his team huddled around Ianto's computer listening to it. "What's going on here guys?"

The small group turned to him startled by the sound of his voice.

Ianto smiled brightly, a slight blush on his cheeks. "It's good to see you up and about Jack. I…" He cleared his throat, "that is we, were worried."

"Worried? I was sleeping. I know I don't do it that often, but it's no reason to worry."

Gwen stepped forwards and laid a hand on his arm. "You've been unconscious for four days." She pulled his mobile from her pocket and handed it to him. "Your friend, the Doctor, has been trying to get a hold of you since the day before yesterday. When I spoke with him last night, he asked that I have you ring him as soon as you woke up."

"Alright, but what's with the music?"

"The rift has been making noise." Tosh's voice was quiet as she explained. "Talking, singing, and the like. We started to record it as soon as we noticed. It actually started right around the time you left here saying that you were going to bed. That's why we believe that it may be related."

"We've actually been picking up some interesting conversations." Ianto cued up the first recording on her screen. "Both you and the Doctor have been mentioned several times, which leads us to believe that it is coming from a parallel Torchwood."

"Let's hear it then."

"What about your friend?"

Jack shrugged. "I need to know if this is something I should be telling him about or not." He placed a hand on Ianto's shoulder. "Play it."

The younger man nodded and turned back to his computer. "This is the first one. The parallel Tosh is in it." Reaching forward he started the playback.

__

Soft and metallic, the sound of heartbeats through a monitor, a soothing cacophony of four hearts beating just slightly off beat of each another. The sound of restless movement brought a soft shushing noise and a gentle female voice.

"It's all right. Auntie Tosh is here. Quiet now. There's a good lad. Don't worry Mummy will be here as soon as she wakes up."

Soft footsteps precede a male voice with a distinct London accent. "They seem to be doing better."

"They are. Mrs. Tyler was right on about the keys. They've made tremendous strides just in the last few hours that they've been in here wearing the keys. Their hearts have steadied and gotten stronger. Their blood-oxygen levels have had a noticeable improvement. The both of them. They are doing better then anticipated for how premature they are."

"Can you explain this to me? I mean six months ago we didn't even know that Rose was pregnant."

"That is true sir. When Rose first came here nearly a year ago, I did a full medical workup on her. A few hormone levels were off, but nothing that raised any flags for me. She is from the other side after all. But I did recheck everything when she collapsed after your return from Norway. That was when I first thought to check for pregnancy. The only explanation I can come up with for it is their father's biology. We know next to nothing about is aside from what Rose and Mickey remember. Four-lobed brain, respiratory bypass, binary cardiovascular system, regenerative capabilities, and severely allergic to aspirin and all its derivatives." She gave a self-depreciating laugh. "I'm guessing about most of this. From growth patterns, I would place the twins, anywhere from four to six months early, not the two months early that they would be in a normal human pregnancy."

"Oh. And the keys? You said Jackie gave you the idea."

"Yes. We don't know how they are doing it, but they are pulling energy through the rift from the other side. As best we can figure, there's another key."

"Another key?"

"Yes. Someone on the other side of the rift must also have a key and it is acting as a bridge or relay, connecting the keys here, with the TARDIS."

"Thereby surrounding these two with the correct energy field."

"Exactly." Tosh's voice was sad as she continued to speak. "They don't belong here. They never did."

"Wow." Jack stared at Ianto's computer absolutely stunned. The Doctor had kids. He had kids, with Rose. He had kids… "They're trapped there." He brought a hand to his face as he sat heavily in a nearby chair. "Is there anything we can do?"

Gwen shook her head as she knelt in front of her superior. "No. We've checked. Anything we tried would just tear a hole in the universe."

Reaching under his collar, he carefully pulled out his key. Contemplating it for a moment, he came to a decision. "The Doc needs to know about this. I've got to get him here." Thumbing through the address book on his phone, he quickly found his friends number. "Here's hoping."

XThisIsALineX


	8. Of Desire

Time's Heart  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T  
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, FlatIron Crossings Mall, Starbucks, Hot Topic, nor any other corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: I know that this is a bit shorter than the last chapter, but it seemed like a good place to end it since the scene that follows is a fairly good length. But here is a lovely bit with Jack. And because I forgot to mention this earlier, this is an AU.

XThisIsALineX

__

Reaching under his collar, he carefully pulled out his key. Contemplating it for a moment, he came to a decision. "The Doc needs to know about this. I've got to get him here." Thumbing through the address book on his phone, he quickly found his friends number. "Here's hoping."

Thera was buried up to her waist under _Sardit_'s control console when Theta's mobile began to ring. Theta had left it with her that morning while he followed a lead on the red-head snatchers. 'Just in case Jack called,' he said. Jack. What in Rassilon's name did he think that pretty boy ex-time agent, could do was beyond her. From what the regeneration sick Doctor had said to her mother the man had been left in the year 200,100 to rebuild the Earth with no way to get back. Which according to her mother was just another way of the Doctor saying that he was dead and didn't want to tell her. After a few minutes of the mobile ringing continuously she let out a frustrated sigh. "Oh, the hell with it. _Sardit_ answer it."

The ringing was promptly replaced with the voice of an American male. "Hey, finally. What's up Doc?"

The young Time Lord allowed her annoyance at the interruption to drip from her voice. "I assume that you are calling for the Doctor." She let out a small hiss as she caught the side of her hand on a sharp edge. "Diputs elos'noc."

Hearty laughter greeted her complaint. "You sound like the Doctor when the TARDIS shocks him for doing something that she doesn't like."

"Stop flirting."

"I was just saying hello."

"For you that is flirting." Placing her screwdriver in her mouth, she used her now free hands to yank the broken circuit board out. " 'tupid 'ift."

Jack laughed. "I don't know if the Rift is stupid or not, but it sounds like you are having problems."

Wiggling out from under the console, allowed Thera to toss the ruined circuit board onto a pile of like-wise broken technology and to take her tool from her mouth. "Problems are an understatement. It'll take a miracle to fix this wreck."

"Did you crash?" Curiosity was apparent in his voice.

She rolled her eyes and sighed as she ran a hand along the edge of the severely damaged control console. "Yes and no."

"Cryptic."

"Not really." She shoved the sonic screwdriver into a pocket and picked up her coat, shrugging into it. "I think I need a Chai." Quickly grabbing the phone she flipped it open, waiting for the tiny beep that indicated the transfer from _Sardit_'s speakers to the phone's. "Still there pretty boy?"

"Pretty boy?"

Thera winced as she realized that she had unintentionally used one of her father's nicknames for him. "You sound like one." Closing the door behind her, Thera was careful to double check that it was locked, before heading upstairs to Starbucks.

"My friend Rose called me that once." He laughed. "I don't know why I said that. The Doc's usually the one who calls me a pretty boy. But I've been thinking about them a lot lately I guess."

Thera was starting to get a sneaking suspicion that this really might be the man her mother had told her stories about. "Well, Captain Harkness, is there a reason you called for the Doctor, or are we just going to play twenty questions all day?"

His voice was surprised as he answered, unknowingly confirming her suspicions. "You know my name. I'm afraid that you have me at a disadvantage, ma'am. I don't know your name."

The Time Lord held the phone to her shoulder as she quickly ordered her drink. Clearing her throat, she replaced the phone to her ear. "Well Captain Jack Harkness, I am pleased to introduce myself as the Scribe."

"Scribe. You're not the Doctor's Companion then, are you?"

"No. The Doctor is currently hunting for whoever took our companions actually. He said you might ring back. Oh. Thank you." She gratefully took her drink from the smiling barista. "He's been trying to get a hold of you for the last two days. Said you might be able to help get my TARDIS to Cardiff. Care to tell me why he might think that?"

"Probably because I'm the head of Torchwood and have access to a few resources that he doesn't have."

Torchwood. No wonder the Doctor wanted to get a hold of his friend so badly. But still there was a discrepancy that she felt needed to be addressed. "Answer me one thing before you bring your Torchwood into this. How did you survive Gamestation 5?"

Jack was silent for a long minute. "You know about that." He fell into silence again. His voice soft with sorrow when he continued to speak. "Rose. The Doctor told me. She looked into the heart of the TARDIS and took the Vortex into her head, in order to save us. I died and she brought me back. And the Doctor died to save her."

__

"I am the Bad Wolf."

Thera stopped walking and stared over the first-floor railing at the level below. "She never told us."

"You're from the other side, aren't you?"

She nodded absently, forgetting for a moment that she was on a mobile. "Yes, I am and no, I'm not." Catching sight of the Doctor below, she smiled. Sending a telepathic nudge, she watched as he started and nearly tripped over a grade-schooler. After apologizing profusely to child and mother, he turned to look up at her before starting her way. "Did you know that she misses him still? That she cries on bad days and can actually talk about him on good days."

"The Doctor is like that too. Only I think that he has more bad days than good since Canary Wharf."

"He didn't have anyone did he?"

"He had Martha and me."

"But it wasn't enough was it?"

"I don't think it was?"

"At least she had us."

"I'm glad she isn't alone." He paused, "Where are you? I'll bring a team out to see if we can't help any."

"We're in Broomfield, Colorado, at the mall."

Jack laughed. "We'll be there in six."

Thera arched an eyebrow as Theta reached her side. "Six what?"

"Bloody lift takes forever."

"Six hours."

Blinking, she shook her head, holding up a finger for silence. "Six hours. We'll have information about the situation ready for you when you arrive. We appreciate your help Captain Harkness."

"Anything for the Doctor. I'm looking forward to meeting you in person Scribe."

"Captain." She heard a soft beep indicating that the call had ended and closed the phone. Turning to Theta she smiled and handed it back to its owner. "Your friend, Captain Harkness is coming to help."

He grinned, the concern in his posture melting away as he relaxed in relief. "That's a relief. It'll be good to see him again."

She gave him a sideways look, before laughing. "If he's as good as I've heard then I can't wait to meet him."

XThisIsALineX


	9. I Hold

Time's Heart  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T  
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, FlatIron Crossings Mall, Starbucks, Hot Topic, nor any other corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: This might be really long. Sorry, but it just kept going and going. And so I went where the muse took me. Remarkably my muse was talking in the Doctor's voice. Hmm. I like his voice. It also helps to listen to the Doctor Who commentaries on iTunes. He's hilarious. Enjoy.

XThisIsALineX

__

She gave him a sideways look, before laughing. "If he's as good as I've heard then I can't wait to meet him."

Exactly six hours later, Jack, Tosh, and Gwen, arrived at the mall. Ianto and Owen had been left behind with instructions to keep working on the audio recorded from the rift. Not that either man was happy to be left behind, but they had laughingly agreed to it when Tosh had jokingly referred to the mission as a 'girls day out.'

They stood silent at the top of the stairs leading down to the lower level, taking in the environment. A large sign proclaimed the random conglomeration of artwork spread out below them as belonging to the 'Campaign for Literacy.' The two largest pieces, a large red wardrobe and a blue police box, had a sizeable group of women and girls flocked around them. The attraction, the Torchwood team noted, was not the exhibit, but rather the tall dark-haired man in a blue suit at the center of it all.

He had a brilliant smile on his face, as he waved a book about, pantomiming a few scenes of it to his adoring audience. After a moment he glanced up and caught sight of them, his smile transforming into a happy grin. Carefully winding his way through the crowd, he made his way to the base of the stairs.

In a sudden flurry of movement that startled both females, Jack bounded down the staircase to meet the newcomer as he started up. Meeting him about a third of the way up, he swept the smaller man into a bear hug that lifted him off his feet.

"Doctor!"

His joyfully exclamation drew a musical laugh from the other man as he was gently set back on his feet.

"Hello." Catching sight of the two women standing behind Jack, he sent a smile their way. "So here you are."

Jack grinned as he took the Doctor's head in his hands. Dipping his head he kissed him, bringing a blush to the Doctor's freckled cheeks.

Gwen smirked and nudged Tosh. "This must be the 'right kind of doctor' that he was talking about."

The two women laughed as the Doctor's blush deepened. Coming down the steps, they introduced themselves, earning a small smile from the still pink Time Lord.

"So Jack says that you needed our help with a missing persons case." Tosh spoke quietly in order to not attract unwanted attentions. "I'm not sure what we are needed for, but we'll do what we can."

The Doctor was all business at the reminder of the missing girls. "To date fourteen ginger haired females, aged sixteen to fifty-three have been taken. Scribe and I believe that the kidnappers are not locals. I've tried scanning for Scribe's Companion using the bio-locator tag that she wears, but the signal is being scrambled somehow. My TARDIS isn't having much luck with finding Donna's key either. She knows that they are there, just not where they are." He motioned for them to follow as he walked back to the exhibit. "That is part of why we need you lot. Extra eyes and all that."

Jack nodded, "Not to mention lower-tech right." His eyes widened when he noticed that his friend was not leading them to the blue police box, but instead to the red wardrobe. "Did you redecorate?"

"Huh?" He looked over his ships current exterior with a critical eye. While _Chronicles of Narnia _was not his favorite series, he did appreciate the detail that _Verity _had put into her present disguise. "She did a lovely job with it."

Jack was about to respond when a slender woman, who appeared to be no more than twenty-five, slipped in-between Tosh and himself. A mischievous smile graced her lips as she stepped up behind the unsuspecting Doctor. With a quick motion, she dumped the contents of her hands down the back of his shirt and bolted away.

Theta yelped in surprise as the ice cold snow made contact with his spine. Shivering, he whimpered as it slid down his back. "Hö , d'loc." Turning, he scanned the crowd. Not seeing his quarry, he called out with his voice raised enough to be heard over the chatter. "Scribe, ii ma an'nog teg u'oy rof tah't."

Laughter filled the young woman's voice when she answered from some hidden place. "Hi'c'tac em fi u'oy nac. Oh, and bring your friends."

"Bring us for what?"

Theta smiled at his old friend. "To play in the snow of course. Scribe and I always used to do this when we were in school. We would constantly be ganging up on Physician and Master. Oh, it was so much fun."

Exiting the doors behind the exhibition, the four found themselves in a winter wonderland. Along the side of the mall, a frozen waterfall towered two stories above them. The ground was covered in a thick blanket of fresh snow. Thera stood in the middle of the open area, twirling in circles, her long red coat billowing out around her in the falling snow.

Jack watched with a smile as the Doctor slowly moved past him to take the girl's hand. Even though she wore a smile, the look in her eyes matched the deep sorrow that was an ever present feature of the other Time Lord. He watched as his friend brushed snow-laden bangs from her face, gentle words unheard by human ears, falling from his lips.

"What's this all about?"

The soft seriousness of his voice brought Thera's eyes up to meet Theta's own, her smile fading away. The sorrow, confusion, and pain in her eyes were very nearly a physical blow to him.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Just tell me what is wrong." He brushed a hand across her cheek and left it there in an unconsciously paternal gesture.

Tears laced her voice as she slowly spoke. "_Sardit _is insane and Sarah is gone. I can't contact my family. And… what am I going to tell her father?"

Giving a quick tug, he pulled her into a hug and rested her head in the crook of his neck. "We'll get everything sorted, just like we said we would. We'll get Sarah and Donna and all the rest of those girls back. Then we'll get _Sardit _to Cardiff, where Jack and his super-duper crew of alien busters, will keep an extra keen eye on her until she's all better. And while she's getting better, we'll work on a way for you to get your mum home."

She sniffled. "I miss me mum." She buried herself further into his warmth, her arms snaking around his chest. The pounding of his double-heartbeat was a sound she had longed all her life to hear. "I've missed you all my life." His confused hum prompted her to continue, though she wasn't sure if it was time yet. "Mum used to tell us stories about you. Said that you were the best thing to ever happen in her life. Said that you were wonderful."

The Doctor laughed softly into her hair. "Well, I'm not sure I remember ever meeting your mother, as you've never told me her name, but I think that she must be absolutely brilliant to have such an opinion of me." The statement had the desired effect of making the young woman laugh.

"As you say Kithriarch."

Theta looked over at Jack, his eyes now dancing with mirth, and gave him a reassuring smile. "Oh, I haven't been a kithriarch in years. No family. Not anymore."

Pulling back, Thera slapped his arm lightly in chastisement. "Of course you have family Kithriarch of Lungbarrow. Or have you forgotten that you declared Theseus and I and all our family to be members of your house."

Making a face, he backed a few steps away from her. Looking into her smirking face, he lifted his chin and in his haughtiest voice, declared, "I was eight."

Thera laughed, making no indication that she noticed the Torchwood leader sneaking up behind the Doctor, snow in hand. "Still stands."

Relaxing, he smiled softly, the tinge of remembrance on the edges of his expression. "Of course it does. That's not something I'd ever change. You're family and that's never going to change."

"Closer than you'd think." She laughed as Jack lifted his hands above the oblivious Time Lord's head.

Whatever Theta's reply was going to be was lost when Jack dumped his cargo. The former Lord High President of Gallifrey let out a rather undignified squeak as the snow cascaded down around his ears. Quickly ducking he scooped up his own handful of snow, tossing it right into the retreating captain's face.

"So does this make him family then?" Thera laughed at the baffled look her friend gave her.

"If I didn't consider him family, his punishment would be much worse."

Jack's voice was a little shaky when he spoke. "Punishment?"

Thera laughed joyfully at Theta's declaration. Her mother had long considered Jack a member of their family, but having the Doctor declare it finally made it official. "He's new. We should make it all official. That way we can have fun with his punishment." She danced up behind the Doctor to whisper in his ear. "Do you remember what I did to Master the day he turned sixteen?"

Theta's smile turned into a smirk as he considered the man standing before him. Nodding he motioned the two human women over. "If this is going to be official, then it needs to be done properly." He glanced around at their surroundings. "Or as properly as it can get with it being all snowy and Earth-like." He motioned for Jack to kneel. "Now if you ladies would stand to either side, behind him. That-a girls." He took Thera's hand and pulled her to his right side. "Now this is a little off balance since my Mate isn't by my side, but it will have to do, as I am sure that she is here in spirit." He and Jack shared a sad smile at his mention of Rose. Taking a deep breath he grinned. "So I, Sir Doctor of TARDIS, Theta Sigma, Kithriarch of Lungbarrow, Time Lord, and Last Lord High President of Gallifrey do hereby call you forth as witnesses.

"Lady Scribe, Thera sister of Theseus, daughter of the house of Lungbarrow. Lady _Verity_, bonded TARDIS, on behalf of my Mate, Lady Bad Wolf, Dame Rose of the Powell Estate. Toshiko Sato and Gwen Cooper of Torchwood.

"On this day I do before you name this man, Jack Harkness of Torchwood, the Face of Boe, child of the Boeshane Peninsula, to be from this moment on, forever after, a son of the house of Lungbarrow, adopted child of Gallifrey.

"Choose your name."

Jack's head tipped to one side in confusion as he looked up at his friend. "Name?"

Thera answered for the Doctor, after tugging on his hand for his silence. "Every child of Gallifrey, adopted or otherwise, chooses a name for themselves on the day they enter the Academy, and on the day they are recognized as an adult. Neither Thera, nor Scribe are my birth name. They are both chosen."

"Like my name."

"Yes."

Jack nodded and smiled up at the grinning Doctor. "How bout Captain?"

"Sounds about right." Theta pulled the newest member of his house to his feet and into a hug. "Welcome to the family Captain."

Thera in a like manner also hugged Jack. Though when she released him she had a slight blush on her cheeks.

"So I have a question?" Tosh's voice was hesitant. "I don't want to offend anyone, but what are your real names?"

The two Time Lords shared a glance. Questions asked and answered in that look.

The Doctor frowned for a moment, his expression serious as he answered her. "There is power in a name Miss Sato. The Carrionites for instance use words to manipulate reality, whereas Gallifreyans and many others use numbers. The TARDIS systems are a prime example." Thera's hand over his mouth prevented further explanation.

"It's bigger on the inside." She smiled fondly at the slightly built man who stood at her side. "To be honest Miss Sato, many Time Lords forget their birth names after a regeneration or two and lose it completely by the time they are the Doctor's age. I'm not even two hundred yet and have only regenerated once, so I still remember mine. Time is not a straight line, no matter how much you humans would like to believe otherwise. My grandmother for instance, had the hardest time with it when we came back from school. When my brother and I left we were eight, two days later we came back and we were one hundred and eight. Now that really screwed with the Torchwood records."

"Torchwood?" Tosh looked at Jack, who just shrugged and motioned for her to keep the other woman talking. "You work for Torchwood?"

Thera blinked at the petite agent in confusion before shaking her head. "Sorry. Forgot for a moment that you're not my Auntie Tosh." She smiled brightly, oblivious to Gwen's gasp and Jack's sharp intake of breath. "I was raised on the other side of the wall. My family is originally from this dimension. My niece was born on Gallifrey and my mother was born here on Earth."

"So, you're half human?"

"Well yes. I even have a human name."

"What is it?" Theta had been up to this point staring at her in bewildered silence. Now he felt he needed to know. He wasn't sure what exactly he needed to learn, he just knew that now was the time to start asking the questions.

"What?" Thera blinked at the other Time Lord confused by the sudden interruption. She was starting to feel a shift in their connection and wasn't sure what it meant.

"Your human name. What is it?"

She shrugged, the sense that now was the right time filled her hearts. "All right. It's not a big secret. My name is Amser Calon Tyler-McCrimmon."

Theta's eyes fluttered closed as a tear slid down his cheek, his jaw dropping open as he gasped for breath. Her family name alone was a punch to his gut, but the meaning of her name made his hearts clench in agony. A soft touch to his arm and Thera's worried voice calling his name prompted him to force open his eyes. As he looked into eyes the colour of his Mate's, joy started to blossom and his hearts to beat again. Mimicking the gesture he had made earlier, when he had brushed snow from her hair, he rested his hand on her cheek. Looking her over, he had to wonder how he had missed it. Her face was similar to his own, but her eyes, her eyes were Rose's. And that attitude of hers was such a wonderful blending of the personalities of his last two or three incarnations, that he couldn't help but smile down at her.

"My girl. My precious girl."

Gently he pulled her into a hug. Burying his face in her hair he breathed deeply, taking in the scent of his child, imprinting it on his mind. The heady perfume of Time blended sweetly with the rich musky fragrance of humanity. His hearts wept.

XThisIsALineX


	10. With Those

Time's Heart  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T  
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, FlatIron Crossings Mall, Starbucks, Hot Topic, nor any other corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: Again a long chapter… well we'll see. Yay, done. Right at midnight even. Go me. Thank you to all my lovely reviewers, I love you guys.

XThisIsALineX

__

Gently he pulled her into a hug. Burying his face in her hair he breathed deeply, taking in the scent of his child, imprinting it on his mind. The heady perfume of Time blended sweetly with the rich musky fragrance of humanity. His hearts wept.

Soft laughter and childish giggles filled a most unusual nursery. Three wall were nearly covered over with childish drawings, penmanship samplers, and long sheets of equations. The fourth wall was bare, plain unadorned white.

The source of the laughter was a pair of blond haired children, no more than five years of age. They were showing off their most recent artistic endeavors to the woman they happily referred to as Auntie Tosh. They were free-hand portraits of their Uncle Jack. Images pulled from their mother's memories. They didn't know him, but for the stories their mother and Uncle Mickey told.

Little Amser liked to dream. She was good at it. Better than her little brother even. All he saw was numbers. Always numbers, never the pretty images and words that she saw. But that was fine really, because she knew that someday those silly numbers of his would get them home to their Daddy. She had seen it in her dreams. They would go home and Mummy would be happy again and Daddy would stop crying.

"Amser?"

The tiny blond looked up at her brother, an inquisitive eyebrow raised.

"Do you miss Daddy?"

She stared intently at him, looking beyond his outer form, to the shining silver of his hearts. She saw an echo of his future face, so similar to their father's fifth form, that it made her want to cry. Amser nodded as she released the vision. "I do. I miss him. I miss him so much, that sometimes it makes my hearts hurt."

"Do you think we'll ever meet him?"

Amser smiled brightly, every inch her mother's daughter. "Of course we will. After all he is our Daddy. Like Mummy says, we are just as clever as he is."

XThisIsALineX

"Not half so clever as you thought you were, now are you."

The Doctor blinked in confusion. He had not expected to be greeted thusly upon his entry into _Sardit_'s control room. Looking around his confusion deepened as he could see no evidence of the owner of the voice. "Jack?"

There was a small thud and groan of pain, followed by Jack's head popping up over the far side of the control console. "Who the… Oh, hi Doc."

Jack's grease streaked visage brought a smile to his lips. "So you're hiring yourself out as a mechanic now? Cause I've got a few things in _Verity _that could use work."

Jack grinned and let out a small enough. "Well, you know, the whole saving the world thing just wasn't paying enough. Thought I'd give tinkering a go."

Theta grinned as he dropped himself into the armchair that served as a jump seat. Grimacing for an instant, he pulled the stylus for Thera's keyboard from behind his back. "What are you working on?" He released a small noise of triumph, when touching the stylus to a tiny blinking icon in the top right hand corner of the keyboard lit up the entire screen.

"The comm. system. Scribe said earlier that she wanted to give her mother a call." He shrugged and tossed his borrowed screwdriver onto the console. "Unfortunately, I don't understand all the modifications she's made to the damn thing."

Activating the main display screen, the Doctor quickly ran through the system menu. Finding the comm. system programs, he pulled up the schematics on the main display screen and the program equations on the keyboard. "Get back to work on the hardware. I'll take care of the software." After Jack's head vanished under the console once again, he bowed his head, pain etched on his features. All this time alone, and now he was fixing his daughter's equations. His daughter. Oh, how it hurt to know that Rose had, had to go through it alone. He knew that she had Jackie, Pete and Mickey, but that didn't matter. She hadn't had him there to help balance the mental aspect. Half-human or not, Thera and Theseus were still Gallifreyans. Telepathy was their life-blood. They must have been so lonely with only each other to '_speak'_ to.

"Hey Doctor, I've got a question."

Theta started, losing his train of thought at the sudden interruption. "What?"

"Who is she? Scribe, I mean."

"Scribe. The Lady Thera, daughter of the house of Lungbarrow, Amser Calon Tyler-McCrimmon, daughter of the Lady Bad Wolf, Dame Rose Tyler and Sir Doctor, Lord Theta Sigma, Kithriarch of Lungbarrow." He laughed. "Probably not quite what you wanted to know was it." He paused while tapping in another correction. "That's nothing but titles. Now the girl I know, is not just those titles. She is, oh, so much more then her titles. Words. She is brilliant, absolutely brilliant with words. Oh, and is she clever.. Cleverest littlest thing you'll ever meet. Just like her mother." He grinned as he tapped in several more corrections. "Oh, this is brilliant. Who ever wrote these equations is brilliant."

"You can tell them that once the system is back up." Thera's voice was soft as she entered the control room. Moving slowly she moved to Theta's side, one hand coming up to rest on his left shoulder.

Placing the keyboard to one side, he reached up to pull her around the chair to stand in front of him. His grin had faded into a look of concern upon hearing her voice. Looking up he met her tired eyes. "You should be resting."

She shook her head as she lowered herself into his lap, her head tucked under his chin. It was the instinctive reaction of a child seeking comfort from a parent and he allowed it, knowing that she needed the comfort.

"Too many thoughts in that head of yours?"

She nodded, bringing her head up to rest on his shoulder. "You feel happier. Worried, but content."

Putting the keyboard onto Thera's lap, he started tapping away at it again, one arm supporting his daughter. After a moment he replied with a gentle smile. "You're here. So I have hope that someday Rose will be able to come home too."

"We all want to come home." She sighed with a small yawn. "We miss you. Even Joshua and Sarah miss you and they've never even met you."

"Joshua?"

"Joshua Campbell Carnsworth. Sarah's father. His chosen name is Tech. Teacher's son."

"Teacher." He let out a small laugh as the image of his granddaughter entered his mind. "Susan Foreman. I should have known. Always was too much like me for her own good."

"She adores you though. The you that she remembers, and the you as mum remembers." She yawned softly, her words quieting as exhaustion pulled her into sleep. "We all miss you."

His reply was quiet as he kissed the top of her head, a little more of his worry slipping away. "Quite right, too." He laid his head on hers for a moment, before sighing and returning to his work.

After nearly an hour had passed, he called to Jack wanting to know how the repairs were coming along.

"About another…" He was cut off by a small popping sound. "There we go. All done." Jack quickly extracted himself from underneath the control console. Catching sight of the Doctor, he grinned. "I thought you didn't do domestic."

Theta smiled softly. "This isn't domestic. It's paternal. A slight, but significant difference."

"How so?"

"I only do this for my children."

Jack laughed shaking his head at his friend's response. "Are you about done with the software?"

"Finished about five minutes ago." He ran his free hand through his hair. "I just hope it works." Tapping a few commands into the keyboard, he was rewarded with the sound of a ringing phone.

A moment later the ringing stopped with a small click and was replaced by a confused male voice, with a soft London accent. "Hello? Who is this?"

The Doctor had a grin on his face as he answered. "Hello. This is the Doctor calling from the good ship _Sardit_."

"Doctor?"

"Hello."

The other man's voice sounded distant for a moment as he called for someone else to come to the phone. "Are you really the Doctor? Did she really make it?"

Jack grinned as Theta laughed joyfully. "He really is the Doctor. And he's been waiting a long time to talk to you."

There was the sound of a small shuffle and the male's voice was replaced by a very familiar female's voice. "Doctor? Is that really you Doctor?"

A tear slid down Theta's cheek as he sighed in relief. "Rose. My Rose. Oh, how I've missed you."

"My Doctor." She sniffled, a sound that the Gallifreyan had never thought to hear ever again. "Is Amser there?"

"Right here in my arms." He buried his face in Thera's hair and gave her a quick hug causing her to stir. "Come on now. Time to get up. Your mum's on the phone for you."

Jack took the moment of silence to get in his own long awaited greeting. "Hey Rose. We missed you over here."

"Jack! But how?"

If his laugh was a little forced, then she didn't hear it. "Oh you know me. Always have a backup plan. I'll tell you all about it when we get you home."

"I missed you."

"And I missed you Rose." A loud yawn drew the Captain's attention to the now conscious Thera. He watched with a smile as she practically fell off of her father's lap in embarrassment. "She's beautiful Rose."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep on you like that." Thera's voice was quiet as she stared down at the keyboard that had fallen on the floor with her sudden movement.

"It's alright." Theta placed a hand on her flushed cheek, a tender smile on his lips and contentment in his eyes. "You needed the rest." A pained look crossed his features. "I couldn't do this when you were little, so please let me do this now."

Thera's only response was to smile and hug him as hard as she could.

After hugging her back, he pulled away and pushed her to her feet. "Now say hello to your mum."

"Mum?" Thera's question was directed at the American standing in the center of the room.

Jack grinned and laughed. "Yeah. We got the comm. system working. We're in the middle of a very long-distance phone call."

She could barely believe it. They had been working on it for less than two days on it. Maybe, just maybe, she thought, her estimation of repair time might be exaggerated. So with hope blooming in her hearts once more, she directed her voice to the ceiling. "Is that really you Mum? Is Theseus there?"

Rose's voice was a bit choked when she answered, her tears evident even as she tried to hide them. "It's really me Amser. Aiden's the one who answered the call."

"Aiden?" Theta's voice was soft as he listened to his Mate debrief his daughter over the phone line. His thoughts were going at the speed of light. There was significance to the names, something from the very first moment he had met Thera on Gallifrey. "Aiden means Fiery. Oh, what was it again?"

"Jack and his team are going to help get _Sardit _to his Torchwood, since she can't be exposed to the Vortex currently."

"Just as soon as find whoever kidnapped both Companions, we'll get her to Cardiff. Gwen and Tosh are following a few good leads that the Doctor's turned up. So hopefully we can get out of here in the next day or two."

"Who kidnapped them?" Rose's voice was filled with concern. "Tell me what you know. Maybe I can help."

Jack nodded and in an even businesslike tone, gave his answer. "Sixteen ginger-haired females have been taken so far. Two of which were Sarah Carnsworth, the Scribe's Companion, and Donna Noble, the Doctor's Companion. According to the Doctor, this is some sort of ritual that occurs every two hundred years or so. But he doesn't have a name for them. If he's correct and he usually is, they'll try to take at least another eight to as many as twenty girls."

"Two to three dozen ginger-haired girls?"

"That's right."

Rose laughed. "That's easy. They just came here two days ago. I'm scheduled to be an escort for one of the delegates to their Feast of Fire, celebrating the birth of their fire goddess Inifini."

"Inifini?" Thera tapped a finger against her lips. "Isn't that the fire goddess of the Ordro?"

"That's it!"

The Doctor's sudden exclamation caused the other three members of the conversation to jump in surprise.

"I don't know why I didn't realize it the moment Thera mentioned her full birth name. the prophesy. It's all part of the prophesy. I know I don't usually believe them, but it was the first thing Thera ever said to me. Thirteen hundred years and nine regenerations ago. Of course I forgot. Amser Calon the Heart of Time, my daughter. Aiden, meaning fiery, the Fire. And Rose, my Rose, is Bad Wolf the Protector of the Storm, me. If Amser is the Heart, Aiden the Fire, Rose is the Protector, and I'm the Storm, then who is the Dark? 'Eraweb eh't Krad.' Oh'wa si eh't Krad?"

"Krad?"

"Sey Scribe. Oh'wa si eh't Krad?"

Thera shook her head in confusion. "Ii ood ton wonk. Ii ma yr'ros. Ii ma os yr'ros."

Theta placed a gentle hand on his child's now pale cheek. "Ti si enif. You are a Seer. I don't expect you to remember."

XThisIsALineX

AN2: Ininfini is pronounced E-nif-e-nee.


	11. Who Favor

Time's Heart  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T  
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, FlatIron Crossings Mall, Starbucks, Hot Topic, nor any other corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: I'm sorry for the delay, but my sister was on semester break from school, so I was at a different house from my computer for most of the last two weeks. I am sadly behind on my typing now. 'hangs head' I'm sorry. But even with the delay, here is the next chapter for you my most loyal readers. The next chapter will follow shortly, before I take a quick break of my own to get going on the next section of this story. Enjoy.

XThisIsALineX

__

"Yes Scribe. Who is the Dark?"  
Thera shook her head in confusion. "I do not know. I am sorry. I am so sorry."  
Theta placed a gentle hand on his child's now pale cheek. "It is fine. You are a Seer. I don't expect you to remember."

In the eyes of an eight year old possession means everything. And if you are an eight year old Gallifreyan, possession means a chance at practicing one's jiggery-pokery on mum's mobile. Whether or not she's given permission for said jiggery-pokery practice. Which of course would be why Amser and Aiden nearly panicked when their grandmother caught them at it.

"Now what's this then?"

Amser quickly replaced the faceplate, battery, and battery-cover, as Aiden blushed profusely and tried to stutter out a reply.

"We just wanted to look at the pictures." Amser held out the phone to her grandmother while silently telling Aiden to be quiet.

Jackie smiled at the two blonds, glad she wouldn't have to punish them for anything except lying. As far as she was concerned, as much as they were like Rose, they had their father's knack for getting into trouble. Taking the phone from Amser, she turned it on and thumbed through the menu until she found a picture of the Doctor as she first met him. "Here. This picture. That's your father."

Aiden drew his eyebrows together and scrunched his nose up, scratching his cheek. "But what's his name?"

Jackie blinked. Aiden looked so much like his father in that moment that she automatically answered in her surprise. "He's called the Doctor."

"You mean that's his name?" Aiden crossed his arms tightly across his chest. "No wonder we couldn't figure his name out. We thought that was just a title, like how Auntie Tosh is a doctor."

Jackie smiled as she ruffled her grandsons hair. Sometimes it was hard to remember that they were only two days older then their uncle. They always just seemed older than that. "Would you like me to tell you about how I first met your dad?"

"Yeah."

Jackie settled down into one of the brightly colored, over-stuffed armchairs that the children favored. Finding another picture of the Doctor from after his regeneration, she smiled softly. She always did have a fondness for his younger face, If only because he was happier with it. "I met the Doctor the day after the shop that your mum worked in exploded. They said that it was a gas leak, but knowing your father, it could have been anything. Well he came to our council flat pretending to be there to talk to Rose about compensation. I kept telling her that she needed to get compensation. So, after they left, I came out only to see that our coffee table had been smashed. Rose said that she had tripped and fallen on it, but I still think that the Doctor had something to do with it. And then there was something funny going on with the shop window dummies."

Both children laughed when Jackie make a silly face. She smiled brightly, happy to have her grandchildren so enraptured with her story.

"Shop window dummies?"

"Yes. Shop window dummies. They went on a rampage. Killed a lot of people. Nearly killed me before they were stopped. And then your mum disappeared. One phone call the next morning and then nothing. For a whole year. And your father had the nerve, the absolute nerve, to say that he only meant to keep her out for twelve hours. Gave 'im a good one right across the face I did. He didn't dare keep her out for that long ever again. Six months was the longest after that. Then he sent her back in august." She showed them the picture that was on the phone of the younger-faced Doctor. Her smile was sad now. "He was trapped in the future, dying. He did the right thing sending your mum back to me. He was keeping her safe just like he promised me. We helped her go back of course, your Uncle Mickey and me. Your mum's just not happy without him anymore."

Amser took the phone and gently touched the picture with a finger. "So that's when he regenerated?"

Jackie nodded. "Yes. He was a lot happier after that. I think it's cause of Rose. He adores your mum. I could see it every time he looked at her." She pulled Aiden from his pillow up onto the chair next to her, hugging him tightly. "He misses you three. I just know it. In my heart, I know it.

Aiden nodded against his grandmother's shoulder. "Someday we're going to go home to him. Amser and me and mum. We'll do it."

Jackie squeezed him again. "I think you will."

"So do I."

Jackie started at the deep voice that came from behind her, the two children not reacting at all. Quickly rising to her feet, Jackie turned to look, suspiciously, at the tall man in ornate robes, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "Who are you?"

He smiled softly as he answered. "I am Rassilon. Lord High President of Gallifrey. I have come to take these two to school."

"School? The president of wherever it was, has come to take my grandkids to school?"

Rassilon nodded. "Indeed I have. These two are very special. Two of a new generation of Time Lords." He smiled brightly. "Not to worry. They'll only be gone for two of your days."

"Two days?"

"On my honor."

XThisIsALineX

"Doctor. The Heart of Time is coming. Fire will follow in her wake. The Protector of the Storm will return to his side. Beware the Dark. Never say never ever. Bad Wolf." Amser's last two words were whispered as she collapsed into her brothers arms.

The dark-haired eight year old that she had spoken to, stared at her in bewilderment. "So is she a Seer then?"

Rassilon laughed at the child's response to suddenly having a prophesy pronounced to his face in a rather unexpected manner. "Well then. I leave them to you."

"What?"

The elder Time Lord smiled and patted the boy on his head. "Take good care of them child. I am placing them in your care."

The boy nodded and bowed. "As you wish my Lord." He turned to Aiden and the now simi-conscious Amser after Rassilon left. "You must be new here. I'm called Theta. I don't know if Lord Rassilon mentioned, but you need to chose school names. Something different from your birth name. for instance, I go by Theta Sigma. Not anything fancy I know, but it works."

Aiden smiled. "Theta means time."

Little Theta nodded, pleased that someone understood the reference. "Yes it does. How did you know that? I mean, it's not even a Gallifreyan name."

"It's human. From Earth. Greek specifically. Theta meaning time. The scientific symbol representing something that looks younger than it really is." Amser smiled sleepily as she pulled away from her brother. "Just like our Dad." She held out a hand and waited until Theta slowly took a hold of it. Seeing beyond, she caught a glimpse of possibility. The ten faces of her father hidden in the potential of the lonely child. "I am Thera, the Heart of the Storm."

Theta smiled in delight. "A human name too. Has the Kithriarch of your house let you study Earth?"

Aiden shook his head in confusion, as his sister shrugged. "What is a Kithriarch?"

Theta's jaw dropped. "You don't know what a Kithriarch is? How is that even possible?"

"We were raised on Earth, by humans. We don't know what house our father belongs to." Aiden shrugged as he tipped his head side to side. "We have a human family name and that's what matters on Earth."

"Do you know your father's name?"

"Of course." A hand on his arm silenced Aiden even as Amser nudged him mentally.

In a soft voice, the little blond girl spoke, her words holding a touch of finality. "We can't say. Not now, and not until after the Face of Boe has revealed his true face to you."

Whatever Theta was going to say was cut off by the sound of pounding feet headed their way. In an instinctive move, the twins placed themselves side by side between the child that would one day be their father and the perceived threat. A moment later they relaxed as a small group of children rounded a corner, coming to a halt directly in front of the trio.

"So we heard that there were new ones. Care to introduce them Theta Sigma?" The dark-haired leader of the group demanded.

"Koschei, Zedric and Elean, meet Thera and her brother," He paused.

_Theseus._ Aiden supplied.

"Theseus. They are children of the house of Lungbarrow." The absolute certainty in his voice seems to surprise even him.

Koschei sneered for a moment, before smiling. "Your cousins?"

Theta's eyebrows went up as he tugged on one ear. "Well. Yeah. Something like that."

"Well then." He laughed as he unconsciously started to tap out a four-beat on his thigh. "Welcome to the Academy. I'm sure we'll all be fabulous friends."

XThisIsALineX

AN2: Koschei later took on the name Master. And we all know how well that turned out.


	12. Fire

Time's Heart  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T  
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, FlatIron Crossings Mall, Starbucks, Hot Topic, nor any other corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: I'm sorry for the delay. I'm going to be taking a quick break for the next couple of weeks to get going on the next section of this story. I hope you enjoy this last section of Time's Heart.

XThisIsALineX

__

"Well then." He laughed as he unconsciously started to tap out a four-beat on his thigh. "Welcome to the Academy. I'm sure we'll all be fabulous friends."

"So they're called the Ordro? And they took the girls. Why?" John Richards blinked in confusion at the tall dark haired 'specialist' that the Doctor had brought in. The other man seemed to have just as bad a habit as the Doctor when it came to obfuscation.

Jack smiled even as the two female members of his team rolled their eyes at him. The four were sitting around a small conference table in the mall's main security office. Dossiers on each of the missing women spread out in front of them, as well as maps of the mall and its surrounding neighborhoods. "They took them to a birthday party."

"That's what I thought you said." Richards shook his head in bemusement. "Why would they do that though? Why kidnap redheads just for a party?" He shook his head again and then gasped as a thought occurred to him. "They're not doing it legally are they?"

"No, they're not." Jack shrugged. "According to the Doctor, they've violated a few intergalactic treaties and at least one or two paragraph of the Shadow Proclamation. Level five planets are off-limits to mass-kidnappings, especially without proper authorization or compensation. Not to mention this is Earth and most everyone knows not to try anything here."

It was Gwen's turn to be confused. "Why not? We see hostile aliens all the time."

"Yeah, well. The ones we see are usually fugitives or nutters." He smiled as he shook his head. "Unfortunately for us Earth seems to attract the nut jobs. But fortunately for us it also attracted the one hope we have for survival."

"What do you mean? One hope for survival?"

Jack's smile was a little sad, but his eyes twinkled with loving remembrance. "The Doctor loves the Earth, and the Earth loves the Doctor."

"You speak as though it's alive."

"In a way, I suppose it is." His gaze disappeared into eternity. "Time loves the Doctor. She saved him when his world died. Kept his TARDIS alive for him. Time gave him Rose and took her away from him. Time gave them me and I will be there for them when the Earth itself dies." His eyes focused once more on his friend. "The Doctor and his family are here. So you see," he paused and looked at each of them, "the Earth is defended."

John Richards nodded and spoke up again. "So what are we going to do about the Ordro?"

"Contact them." The Doctor answered as he and Thera entered the small room. "They deserve the chance to make reparations and go through proper diplomatic channels. I contacted Major General Benson of UNIT. He's agreed to come and act as the official representative of the United Nations. He's also agreed to Jack and myself being there as representatives of the British government and the Shadow Proclamation, respectively. As one of the last of the Time Lords in existence, it's my duty to oversee such things."

XThisIsALineX

"So this is your idea of overseeing things?" Jack was leaning over the arm of a very ornate ivory chair that he had been assigned as an official chaperone of the human females invited to the Ordro Fire Festival. Theta and Thera had been given equally ornate chairs to either side of him.

"Of course. What better way to make sure that everything is all nice and legal. The girls and their families have been compensated for the trouble and good old Benson here gets to go off-world again." Theta turned to his other side and smiled at his old friend. "Glad to be here Benson?"

The elderly UNIT officer smiled in a way that he hadn't since he had last seen his friend thirty years prior. "Always a pleasure Doctor. Wouldn't you agree Richards?"

"Oh, this is more than I ever dreamed I'd get to see in my lifetime." He gestured to the twenty-seven dancing redheads surrounded by the pure white Ordro priestesses. "I mean, wow. Thank you so much for this Doctor."

"Just returning the favor." He grinned as an Ordro servant handed him a chalice of wine. "You were a great help to us on Earth. Scribe and I just wanted to thank you for it all. This is my favorite sort of ending."

"Ending?" Thera's voice was filled with laughter. "Oh Doctor, this isn't an ending. This is the beginning. Now that _Sardit _is in Cardiff, where the Captain can keep and eye on her, you are stuck with me and Sarah, until she's set herself to rights. I don't know about you, but that's an adventure that I'm looking forward to."

The Doctor grinned brightly as he jumped to his feet. "Oh yes." He pulled Jack and Thera to their feet and led them into a groups of dancers.

XThisIsALineX

A week later Thera stood smiling sadly in the Rift room in the Canary Wharf that she had spent the first eight years of her life in. shaking her head at her brother, she triggered her sonic stylus to reset a control on _Verity's _control console, allowing her to speak so that he could hear her. "Sorry. We're still working on this. I'm just an image. No touch."

Theseus nodded as he tapped the toe of one sneaker on the floor behind him. Smoothing the lapels of his dark blue suit, he spoke. "You're safe at least, right? Mum's been worried."

"Sarah and I are fine. We're with Dad." She cleared her throat. "_Sardit _is in Cardiff with Jack Harkness, the Captain. Jack is alive. I'm sure that Mum will want to know that he's an official member of the family now. Dad and I made sure of it. He's looking forward to seeing all of you." She tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "He wants you to keep working on things from this end. We'll keep working on our side too as soon as _Sardit _is back up and running. Dad wants to make sure that the same sort of damage doesn't happen to _Valencia_. It'll take nearly a year for _Sardit _to heal fully. In the mean time, I'll be traveling with Dad on _Verity_."

Theseus smiled brightly as a tear slid down his cheek. "Just where you've always wanted to be. I'll let Mum know where she can get a hold of you. Expect a few calls from her and Grandmother." He shook his head and shuffled back a step. "I won't say goodbye."

Thera grinned. "Good. I wouldn't have it any other way."

XThisIsALineX

Donna and the Doctor stood, leaning against one of Verity's railings, watching Scribe talk to her brother. Young Sarah was availing herself of the Wardrobe. She had gone with the excuse that white really just wasn't her color, and she doesn't 'do' dresses. Where her aunt was fond of black and red velvet, Sarah quite preferred green and blue denim and leather. The joys of a rebellious teenager.

Donna however was still in the thick woolesque dress and fur lined cloak that had been given to her as a gift of gratitude by the Ordro. "You look happier."

Theta smiled softly and his Companion was happy to note that this time, it reached his eyes. "I'm not alone anymore and someday soon, my family will be able to come home."

The redhead grinned and bumped her shoulder against her friends'. "I'm happy for you. You shouldn't ever be alone.

He grinned briefly. "So, did you have a good time with the Ordro? I hear that they treated all of you like goddesses."

Donna rolled her eyes and frowned. "I would've liked it better, if they hadn't kidnapped me first. They treated us like we were the queen herself, though."

"That's good to hear." His smile faded as Thera said goodbye to her brother and turned off the comm. system. "You all right?"

"I will be." The younger Time Lord attached herself to her father's side, snaking her arms around his chest. "It's just been hard to not have him in my head this last week."

"You're always in each others heads?" Donna gave her a sideways glance and shifted away from the two Gallifreyans.

"Mostly." Theta grinned at his Companion again. "You don't need to worry about us rummaging around your head. Although we can."

"But only with permission." Thera added.

"Exactly."

"And only if we're touching you."

The Doctor looked at his daughter, a slightly exasperated look on his face. "You're being rude. And besides, she already knew that."

Thera grinned. "Good."

"You're both mental."

Looking at Donna they both grinned. "Thank you."

XThisIsALineX

AN2: Whew. Done. Well with this section anyways. I'm going to take a quick break and I'll see all of you wonderful readers and reviewers in a couple of weeks. Thank you so much. I love you all. So here's a quick preview.

X Fiery Twin X

Losing his mum was something that young Luke Smith dreaded with every fiber of his being. His birth may have saved the world, but it was his mum, his Sarah Jane, who saved him. And some days he liked to think that he saved her too.

So, it was that one bright spring morning found him dragging his friend Maria across her front lawn towards his house.

"Luke, what are you doing?"

He stayed silent as he pulled her through the gate and up the front steps. Opening the front door he turned to her, his dark eyes filled with anguish. "Mum's gone."

X Fiery Twin X

Coming Soon


	13. But If

Time's Heart: Fiery Twin  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T  
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, nor any corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: Yay! I'm back. I know that I promised that it would only be a couple of weeks, but things came up. My Companion was ill and we were trying to get him all better. I have been writing however, and now that he is doing much better, I am working on getting it all typed up for you all to read. So, here is the beginning of the second section of Time's Heart, Fiery Twin.

X Fiery Twin X

Losing his mum was something that young Luke Smith dreaded with every fiber of his being. His birth may have saved the world, but it was his mum, his Sarah Jane, who saved him. And some days he liked to think that he saved her too.

So, it was that one bright spring morning found him dragging his friend Maria across her front lawn towards his house.

"Luke, what are you doing?"

He stayed silent as he pulled her through the gate and up the front steps. Opening the front door he turned to her, his dark eyes filled with anguish. "Mum's gone."

"Gone?" Maria moved past her friend and scanned the room beyond. The most telling thing that she could see to indicate that that Sarah Jane had not left voluntarily, was the still steaming cup of tea sitting next to her notebook on a side table. "She was waiting for you to get up?"

Luke closed the door behind him, leaving him standing awkwardly in the entryway. "We take tea before breakfast on Saturdays. She called me down ten minutes ago. But when I came down she was gone."

"So you came to get me?"

He nodded. "I thought that maybe you could help search with me."

Maria took her friends hand and pulled him towards the stairs. It hurt to see him like this. She know how much his mum meant to him and she knew that if she ever lost her dad she'd feel the same way. "Let's go check with Mister Smith. Maybe he can help too."

Breaking into a run the two teens bounded up the stairs into the attic.

"Mister Smith we need you."

With a hiss the sentient computer activated, opening its exterior access panels. "Good morning Luke and Maria. How may I help you?"

"Sarah Jane vanished, just a few minutes ago. Can you find her?"

A multicolored overview of the house appeared on Mister Smith's screen. After a few seconds the screen fizzled with static, before returning to its default. "There appears to be interference. However, I can verify that Sarah Jane Smith was forcibly removed from the premises. I however can do nothing so long as the interference continues. I would recommend calling an expert."

Luke paled and sat heavily on the floor, Maria immediately following in concern.

"What does he mean Luke? Do you know what he means?"

Luke nodded. "Mum said that if she were ever taken and we couldn't get her back on our own, then Mister Smith would say that. He's an old friend of hers. The one she traveled with as an assistant when she was younger." He cleared his throat and sat up straighter, colour returning to his cheeks. "Mister Smith call the Doctor. Tell him that Sarah Jane needs his help."

"I will make the call with all due haste. May I suggest that you continue your own search as well until he arrives."

"Of course we will, just make the call."

X Fiery Twin X

"Doctor something's beeping." Young Sarah Carnsworth's voice was stressed and worried as she called down for her grandfather who was currently buried below _Verity's _floor panels. It was the dead of night onboard the ancient time-ship and the elder of the two Companions was dead to the world, sleeping in her room. In the meantime the Time Lord and his grandchild were trying desperately to power the ship back up so that they could search for Scribe.

Theta had not appreciated the sudden introduction of hot tea to his lap when his precious ship had shrieked in agony and ground to a shuddering halt in early twenty-first century London. London. The Powell Estates to be precise, just two years after Canary Wharf. A place and a time that brought pain to his hearts, along with the happy memories of his human family.

And now he blamed the time for _Verity's _inability to move or locate his now missing child. Someone had taken Thera and hurt _Verity _and her wanted them. No one hurt his family. No one.

Sarah looked down over the catwalk ledge where she was working on resealing panels. "It's still beeping Granddad. I can't get to it. You're going to have to answer it sir." She was just as worried about her aunt as her grandfather was. Never mind her childish insistence on denying familial ties, this was not a teenage rebellion gone wrong. Her aunt was long past that. "Granddad."

After a moment his head popped up through the open floor panel. "What was that? I was a bit tangled up."

"The comm is beeping."

"Oh." Reaching up as far as he could the Doctor batted at the control console until the beeping stopped. "Hello?"

A flat emotionless voice responded. "Hello. Might I inquire as to whither or not the Doctor is available to speak?"

"That depends on who this is?"

"Of course sir. My name is Mister Smith. I am an associate of Miss Sarah Jane Smith and her son Luke."

Theta's eyebrows rose nearly to his hairline in surprise. "Sarah Jane never had children."

"She adopted young Luke shortly after the Bane genetically engineered him, and the Bane mother was defeated. I believe she once remarked that he reminded her of you sir."

"Ah." He smiled. "Clever then is he?"

"Exceedingly so sir. I am calling you on his behalf, upon standing orders given to me by Sarah Jane Smith."

The Doctor's face fell. "Something's happened to Sarah Jane."

"Indeed sir." There was a slight pause. "He wishes to speak with you sir."

"Put Luke on."

"Of course sir."

The soft hesitant voice of a teenage boy replaced the computers. "Hello. Are you the Doctor?"

"I am." Theta looked up at Sarah, who shrugged. "Mister Smith said that your name is Luke and that you are Sarah Jane's son. Is that right?"

"Yes, my name is Luke Smith." The boy sighed as he ran unseen hands through his hair. "Mum said that if anything ever happened to her and we couldn't help her on our own then we were to call for the Doctor. For you. She said that you could help. That there wasn't anything you couldn't do."

The Time Lord sighed as he ruffled his hair and climbed out from under the floor. Dangling his feet in the hole, he looked up at his grandchild again. "I wish that were true."

"Sir?"

"I can't help, not at the moment. Sarah Jane must have been taken by whoever took my daughter. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"But if you can't help, then what do we do?"

"What about the Captain? Surely Uncle Jack can help if we can't." Sarah was amazed at how calm her voice came out, given how panicked she felt.

"Who's the Captain?"

Theta grimaced as he answered the confused boy. "The Captain is head of Torchwood. It's an organization that polices the activities of non-natives. Similar to UNIT that way, only more specifically British."

"Mum used to work for UNIT. That's how she met you isn't it?"

"Yeah. Back in the seventies. Of course unlike Sarah Jane, I technically still do work for them."

"How's that then?" Sarah piped up with her question.

He scratched his temple, a sheepish look on his face. "Never resigned. Ask Donna about it some time." Theta clapped his hands together and grinned. "So lets get the Captain on the line then." after a moment digging around in his pockets, he produced the mobile that Martha had given him. "Just what the Doctor ordered." As he punched Jack's info into the tiny phone, he nodded for Sarah to take over the conversation with Luke. A small number of minutes later, he sighed and shaking his head in resignation, he hung up and put the mobile back into the pocket from whence it came. Gently coughing to interrupt the conversation the two teens were well into, he spoke. "Sarah. Luke. I'm sorry. The Captain had one of his people taken as well. He can't really help either. The Torchwood compound is in lock-down. He can't get out." He sighed. "However, he is going to contact the Physician. _Sardit_'s systems don't appear to be affected by whatever damaged my TARDIS."

"Physician?"

Theta smiled in fond remembrance. "My son. I haven't seen him in twelve hundred years. Good lad. Physician will help. You'll see. We'll get your mum back."

Luke smiled and laughed softly. "Thank you. Thank you so much for your help Doctor."

He grinned at hearing the restored hope in the young human's voice. "Anything for my Sarah Jane and her son."

X Fiery Twin X


	14. It Had

Time's Heart: Fiery Twin  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, nor any corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: Chapter 2 of Fiery Twin is here! YAY! I can't tell you how happy I am to be typing again. I've had all this written up for such a long time now, that it's just so thrilling to be posting it here for you all to read. I hope to keep up the every other week posting schedule, so that no one thinks that I've fallen off the face of the Earth again. Which, honestly sometimes it feels like I did. But as it's been requested that I add more from Gallifrey, I will. Just not in this chapter. However, Theseus is finally making his appearance. I hope that you all like this. Banana's to all.

X Fiery Twin X

"_Koschei, Zedric and Elean, meet Thera and her brother," He paused.  
_Theseus_. Aiden supplied.  
"Theseus. They are children of the house of Lungbarrow."_

"My son. I haven't seen him in twelve hundred years. Good lad. Physician will help. You'll see."

X Fiery Twin X

Aiden Thomas Tyler-McCrimmon. One hundred and eighty-three years old on his next birthday. A Time Lord with an extraordinary gift for numbers and medicine. A man named by his own calling as the Physician. A man who was now staring dumbly at the read-outs on the screen of his beloved time-ship _Valencia_.  
"This can't be right." Pushing a stray strand of his now ginger hair behind an ear, he groaned. He had just gone through his first regeneration on his own, and now he was paying for it. Valencia was being absolutely insistent that he must make the dimensional jump immediately. "The program isn't ready. I don't know what it would do to you."

"Probability index indicates that damage to my primary systems will be minimal. Simulations indicate that now is the ideal temporal jump point." The ships voice was soft as she spoke.

"Now?" Aiden slumped against the control panel as a lance of burning hot pain shot through his midsection. By Rassilon, how he wished his sister were with him. Amser always did know what to do. "What about Tech, or Sue, or Mum?"

The ship let out what could only be described as a sigh. "The program has been sufficiently completed that returning to retrieve the others should be possible after slight system modifications."

A quiet knock on the door preceded its opening. "Physician are you here? It's Teacher." A slender blond with delicate features entered slowly through the young time ships' brilliant blue doors. "Aiden?"

The Time Lord crashed to his knees as another wave of agony passed through him. "Sue?"

Susan Foreman Campbell Carnsworth, the once brunette grandchild of the Doctor, took all of two steps towards her uncle when _Valencia_ gave a mighty shudder and slammed the doors behind her. "_Valencia_?"

"Initiating trans-dimensional locator beacon.  
"Signal acquired. Locking on to coordinates.  
"Coordinates locked. Initiating trans-dimensional jump."

"What? Valencia you're not ready. Physician is sick, can't you see that? We need more time," Whatever else she was going to say was drowned out as the ship lurched again and again. All she could do was watch helplessly as her sweet uncle's beloved ship tore herself to pieces.

X Fiery Twin X

With a soft groan Sarah Jane Smith rolled to her side as her stomach heaved in protest. Her head was pounding with the drums that the Master always claimed to hear. A soft Irish voice spoke words of comfort in her ear.  
"It's all right. Dinna worry. You're not alone."  
Another softly feminine voice spoke to her in a gentle Welsh accent. "Don't worry. The sickness should wear off in a few minutes. Scribe." She addressed the other woman. "Do you know who this is?"  
"No. But I think that I remember a woman that my mother described, that looked like this. She traveled with my Dad for a while back in his third incarnation. Sarah Jane Smith, I think it was."  
"Sarah Jane Smith. Sounds familiar. Like from the papers or something."  
Sarah Jane opened her eyes to look up at the two brunettes sitting to either side of her. "I'm a journalist."  
Thera smiled down at the other woman. "Hello." She nodded at the woman sitting by her side. "This is Gwen Cooper of Torchwood and I am the Scribe."  
"Sarah Jane Smith, but you already knew that didn't you?" She moved to sit up, but was stopped by a soft hand on her shoulder.  
"Wait just a few more minutes. I did know, but only because my mother knows you. My father is notoriously tightlipped about his old companions."  
"Your father? You're Gallifreyan?"  
"Yes. I'm the Doctor's daughter."  
Sarah Jane gasped as she pushed herself up to sitting. "But he said that they all died. That Gallifrey was gone."  
Thera nodded as she looked out into the darkness surrounding their little circle of light. "He didn't lie. The Doctor never lies." She turned tear-filled eyes back to the other woman. "Gallifrey burned. Everyone is gone. My family is all that is left."  
"I'm sorry."  
Gwen cleared her throat, catching the other women's attention. "I hate to interrupt, but how are we getting out of here?"  
"I don't know. This is the Dark and only the Storm's Sword can free us from it."  
"The Storm's Sword?"  
"My brother, the Physician. I am the Heart of the Storm and he is the Sword." She sighed and brushed her bangs from her face. "My family protects Time. My father, The Doctor, is called the Oncoming Storm for good reason. He watched our world die. He committed genocide fro the sake of all these tiny little worlds that will never even know what he did for them." Her voice became distant as her eyes focused on a lost time. "The Destroyer of Worlds. He hurts so much more than any save the Bad Wolf will ever know."  
"Bad Wolf?" Sarah Jane looked to Gwen, who nodded in confirmation. She knew that phrase, that name.  
Scribe nodded as she once again focused on her companions. "She is known throughout all of Time and Space. She creates herself. She alone has seen and knows the Doctor's pain."  
"Your mum?"  
"My mum." She smiled brightly and gestured at the darkness. "And this is the Dark. Don't know who or what it is, but that is half the fun of it."

X Fiery Twin X

"Am I right?" Sixteen year old Theta bit his lip as he stared at Thera, his blue eyes huge in a pale face. "Is what I saw right? Am I going to watch everything I love burn?"  
Thera hung her head, her long blond hair falling to cover her face. It hurt her to see her future father this fragile and unsure of himself. She didn't want to answer his vision, seen in the same Schism that he had run from eight years earlier. She knew that Gallifrey would burn. Her mother had told her of it. She had seen it for herself in her own visions. She knew that she couldn't say anything, but that did not mean that she could not turn his fear of the future into inspiration. She was his Heart after all. "Use the fire that you saw Theta." She looked up into his eyes, her own the colour of tempered steel. "Use it to protect those that you love. You are the Storm. Fire cannot hurt you."  
"Truly?" A faint glimmer of hope worked its way back into his eyes. "Me a Storm? Fantastic." He brushed the back of his hand against her temple. "Thank you Thera. What ever will I do without you?"  
Thera grinned. "Get caught getting into trouble with Theseus of course."  
Theta laughed, as he started to lead Thera back towards the classrooms, her hand firmly gripped in his. "Undoubtedly. Let's run, before we're late."  
"Run. You are always running Theta." And he always would she knew. His first word to her mother was 'run' after all.

X Fiery Twin X

AN2: Yay! I got a mouse! He's so cute and creamy. : - )


	15. To Perish

Time's Heart: Fiery Twin  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, nor any corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: I have the Doctor in my head again, but this time I also have the Dark's voice in my head and he sounds remarkably like Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort. Oh well could worse I think. I've got a bit of the Potter group in my head too, and I just can't see to get past the image of Physician as he is now, as looking like an all-grown-up version of Fred/George Weasley. Either that or Josh Groban, well either one works for me.

X Fiery Twin X

"_I'm old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one. In the end you just get tired. Tired of the struggle. Tired of losing everyone that matters to you. Tired of watching everything turn to dust."_

_Theta laughed, as he started to lead Thera back towards the classrooms, her hand firmly gripped in his. "Undoubtedly. Let's run, before we're late."  
"Run. You are always running Theta." And he always would she knew. His first word to her mother was '_Run_' after all._

X Fiery Twin X

Susan groaned as she felt a hand touch her ankle and a familiar mind brush her own. "Theseus?" A soft mental caress answered her barely whispered query. "Is it bad?"

Aiden not trusting his voice brushed her mind again. His hearts were pounding in his chest as he looked over the damage done to his niece by a falling support column. Half of her face was bruised and bloody. Her blond hair was soaked red with blood. The ankle in his hands was bent unnaturally and the same knee was starting to swell. Gathering himself, he felt along her leg and was relieved to find it unbroken. Though bruised and swollen, her knee was alright, as was the rest of her leg and hip.

"Susan? Sweetie? I'm going to have to set your ankle." Bleary shock filled eyes met his own.

"My ankle?"

"Yes." He moved himself into place. "This is going to hurt. On three. Ready?" at her nod, he took a firm grasp of her foot. Quickly giving count he gasped as she screamed and her ankle slid back into place. Her pain echoed through his mind as she passed into blissful unconsciousness.

"_Valencia_?"

A soft sputter filled the sir in response for a moment, before the entire control panel lit up. A soft beeping and wheezing sound filled the air as the engines came online. _"Systems operating at 83 percent of normal. Minor structural damage. Scanning Time Lord Teacher."_ There was a short series of beeps before the ship spoke again. _"Scan complete. Injuries are mostly superficial, with the exception of a severely bruised knee and broken ankle. Possible concussion. No permanent damage detected."_

"Thank you _Valencia_." Aiden sighed in relief at his ships report. "Hear that Sue. You're going to be fine. Even have a reason to laze about for a few days."

Susan smiled softly as she drifted into consciousness again. "Yeah. I'll like that. Never get to do that at home, right. Always too busy." She looked at the central column in confusion. "When are we?"  
_  
"We have arrived in the early twenty-first century Cardiff. Approximately two hours after we received transmission from _Sardit_."_

"Good job _Valencia_." Aiden gently lifted Susan off the floor and started towards the infirmary. "Call Verity. Let Dad know that we're here. Patch it through to the infirmary when you get a hold of him."  
_  
"Affirmative."_

X Fiery Twin X

Verity. Truth. The daughter of Time and mother of Sorrow and Joy. A living ship made by the gods to bend the very fabric of reality to the whims of her bonded captain. It was she alone who knew the true nature of the Dark. For when the Light went out darkness followed.

A small shock went through her systems as the Doctor tinkered, drawing her attention from her children to her bonded. Giving him a tiny jolt of electricity, she let him know of her indignation over him once again destabilizing her hydrogen hydroxide heating systems. She loved the strange little biped who was her bonded, but he annoyed her to no end some days. His light was fantastic, but still not enough to counter the Dark that hunted the both of them. She feared for him and their family. His children and her own.

A soft seeking tendril of Light brushed her heart, turning her attention once again away from the physical reality to the inner world of Time.  
Her younger child was seeking her comfort. _Sardit_'s wounds still troubled her.

Settling down into a simi-physical manifestation of herself within the shining swirls of the Vortex, she waited. She was a pure gold figure with the face of the Wolf, standing in a sea of violet.

Blinking she let her silver eyes wonder over the many eddies that rose and fell around her. The red of the future mixed with the blue of the past, and the silvery tendrils of her Doctor's interference.

A soundless cry was on her lips as a sharp dark pain stabbed through her forms ankle, bringing her to her knees.

A laugh without form or sound filled the pocket of Vortex that she inhabited.

The cry of a wolf sounded as the Storm's Protector felt Verity's pain and raged against it.

The Dark took form before her even as the Vortex swirled into a storm around them. Verity knew as he stared at her through black eyes that he had come to kill her and extinguish her light. Raising her chin she glared at him in defiance, even knowing that she was defenseless.

Even as his sword bore down on her, she did not feel fear. Even as a Light flared to life before him, causing him to fall back with a cry and the storm broke around them.

"What is this?" Theta's angry voice filled the Vortex, as his silvery form coalesced into the shape of his tenth form. Gilded eyes coming to rest on Verity, he cried out in agony. His beloved partner was hurt, now not only was she tied to one place and time by the black chains around her ankles and wrists, but she was also injured.

Verity threw herself before the Time Lord as sharp black tendrils shot from the Dark towards him.

A pained cry echoed as a pink-gold figure collapsed between them. A blue-gold woman formed by the fallen ones side and raised her to her feet. Turning to glare at the Dark through icy eyes, she spoke softly. "You shall not have them."

The formless, soundless laughter echoed around them once more. "Who are you to say so?"

Though injured the injured female stood tall in her sister's arms and glared at him through narrowed crimson eyes. "I am Sorrow."

"And I am Joy." Valencia declared as she hugged her sister to herself. "We are the daughters of Truth and the grandchildren of Time. Rassilon himself raised us."

"We do not fear you." Sardit sighed as she looked past the Dark into nothingness. "The Sword comes to seal your doom."

The Dark laughed again, even as he cried out in pain.

A Golden Wolf appeared even as he faded away. "I will protect my Doctor."

"I do not doubt that she-wolf. But know this," his words were left behind as he disappeared completely, "I have your Heart, Storm. And those of your sons."

X Fiery Twin X


	16. Twice

Time's Heart: Fiery Twin  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, nor any corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: If you were wondering the sons that the Dark is referring to at the end of the last chapter are Aiden/Physician of course and the newest official addition to Theta's family, Jack/Captain.

X Fiery Twin X

"_We do not fear you." Sardit sighed as she looked past the Dark into nothingness. "The Sword comes to seal your doom."  
The Dark laughed again, even as he cried out in pain.  
A Golden Wolf appeared even as he faded away. "I will protect my Doctor."  
"I do not doubt that she-wolf. But know this," his words were left behind as he disappeared completely, "I have your Heart, Storm. And those of your sons."_

X Fiery Twin X

"Grandfather! Grandfather!" Sarah's anxious cries drew the Doctor back to reality. He opened his eyes to see his grandchild leaning over him, his Companion by her side. Both women looked worried.

"Hello." He grinned at them as he sat up from his prone position on the floor. "That was nice and restful." He rose to his feet and dusted off his coat. "So how long was I gone? Five minutes, ten? Or just long enough to get you all concerned?"

With an exasperated growl, Donna grabbed him by his lapels and gave him a shake. "How long? That's all you can say. How long?" She shoved him back a step. "You blockhead. You were unconscious for nearly an hour and you have the nerve to wake up and say 'Hello, how long has it been.' I ought to knock some sense into that head of yours."

Wide-eyed Theta nodded like a lost little puppy. "Sorry. I didn't realize that I was gone that long. Only felt like a few minutes to me."

The older ginger-haired Companion shook her head, sighing as she reached out to straighten his lapels. It was so hard to treat him like an adult sometimes. "What were you doing anyways to make yourself collapse like that?"

"Do you remember how I told you that the TARDIS is alive?" At Donna and Sarah's nods he continued. "Well. The Dark attacked her again. She was in the process of linking with the other two, which unfortunately leaves her in a bit of a vulnerable state. He took the opportunity injure her again. Being the Time Lord bonded to her means that I felt her pain and was drawn into the mental confrontation between them."

"So by hurtin' the TARDIS, he hurt you?" Donna's voice was sad as she spoke, one hand coming to rest on a nearby support column. "I didn't know that could happen."

Theta nodded, his smile gone as he too rested a hand on one of _Verity's_ warm columns. "Don't ever mention that one. And for good reason." His face was solemn as he took a deep breath and sighed. "If one or the other dies the one who remains is never the same. I'm not _Verity's_ first captain. After her first captain died they were going to decommission her. She called to me." He smiled softly as he ran his hand up and down the column in the manner of a parent soothing a distraught child. "She chose me and I stole her. I gave her back her freedom. For that…" He took a deep open mouthed breath, the kind he only took when he was trying with all his might not to break into tears. "For that she saved my life when Gallifrey burned. She's all I have left of my home-world."

"I'm sorry."

Theta quirked a small grin for his Companion, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah well, we both have something now that neither of us had back home."

"What's that?" Donna asked as she tipped her head to one side, as if she were looking into her friend's soul.

"Family."

Sarah smiled as she slid under his arm and wove her arms around his chest. "Like me, Dad, Teacher, Physician, Scribe, and Grandmum, right?"

Smiling with genuine warmth he kissed the young Companion on her head. Barely nineteen and already so smart. His hearts felt near to bursting with pride to know that this brilliant child had come from his beloved grandchild Susan. "Oh yes. And _Verity's_ three of course."

"Three?" Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. "But I thought that she only had two. _Sardit_ and _Valencia_."

His smile was indulgent as he disentangled himself from his grandchild and moved over to the control console. Punching in a few commands, he brought up a small diagram displaying Verity's family tree. The top line was marked, 'TARDIS TTC Type-1 _Kronos_.' Followed on the next line by 'TTC Type-40 _Verity_.' A third line held four such names: 'TTC Type-40 _Salin, Valencia, Sardit, Erius_.'

Donna came to the Doctor's side confused. "What's this all? What's it mean?"

Theta was somber as he answered. "_Verity_, my TARDIS, is a Type-40. She was old when I was born. Each generational type of TARDIS was given a number. _Verity's_ progenitor, _Kronos_, was a Type-1 because _he_ was the first. Each TARDIS to come after was different. Each generation more chained or specialized than the last. The type-120 was the last." He ran a hand slowly, in a comforting manner, across the control panel. "They were bred for war." He sighed heavily. "But by the end it didn't matter what type they were. It was whole-sale slaughter. _Verity's_ son _Salin_ was lost along with my eldest son. I was there when Susan's home Arcadia was erased from existence. Thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions at a time, of our people gone in an instant. Gallifreyan, Time Lord, and Time Ship alike." Theta's head fell to his chest, his eyes closed as tears slid down his cheeks. "So many died."

Sarah laid a hand on his arm. "And we have to fix it, don't we?"

Theta nodded unable to look at the two Companions. "Time Lords are the glue that holds reality together."

Donna gasped in realization. "That's why it's after you isn't it. No more you, no more this. No more anything."

He looked up his eyes dark storms of emotion. "Frightening isn't it."

X Fiery Twin X

"Theta, are you listening to me at all? You can't just pull me with you on these things and just expect me to go along with them." Thera was in a bit of a foul mood. At half past mid-night her dearest friend, Rassilion bless him for however long he has left to live, woke her from a very nice dream of peppermint ice-cream and Ewen McGreger in a g-string. He then proceeded to drag not only her, but also her manically grinning twin, along with him to of all places, the dump. "I mean honestly. Of all the places you could drag me to in the middle of the night. Didn't you even think for one minute that I might object to being dragged to a rubbish lot?"

Theseus turned and grabbed his sister by an arm, a serious expression now gracing his aristocratic features. "Thera this is important."

Rolling her eyes at her brother she sighed. "Alright what's so important about it? It's a rubbish lot."

Leaning close he whispered into her ear as softly as he could. "_Verity_."

Gasping in shock she looked past him to where Theta was now lovingly caressing the side of a plain white sphere. His face was rapturous, lit from within by the ship he loved. Glancing into Theseus' eyes she nodded at the confirmation she found there. This was it, the moment that they had waited nearly one hundred years for. Their father's joining with his beloved Time Ship.

Theta glanced back at his friends briefly, loath to take his eyes off the beauty before him. His voice was reverent as he spoke to them. "Isn't she lovely. She's mine. They're going to decommission her if I don't take her. She told me. She's been calling to me. Me."

Even knowing that Verity was destined to be with him forever, she felt that she still needed to warn him of the dangers of the path that he was placing them on. "You can't just steal a TARDIS. It's insanity. Theta, they'll banish you."

He looked back at the twins still smiling. "I don't care. As long as she's with me, I don't care."

Theseus nodded. "As it should be between a ship and her captain." Moving to his friends side he laid a hand on the ship. Feeling her greeting echo through his mind he smiled again. "Hello old girl. Found him at last have you." Pressing his forehead to her he showed her the image of his bonded and his sister's. Whispering softly so that Theta wouldn't hear he spoke to her again. "They miss you. Take care of him for mum. She's part of you too you know." A confirmation echoed in his mind as he pulled away. Clapping a hand on the other man's shoulder he grinned. "You've got a good ship. Take care of her Doctor."

Theta grinned right back. "Oh, I intend to."

Thera shook her head as she turned away, tears in her eyes and darkness in her mind. Crying out she fell to her knees, both men rushing to her side. Looking into her brother's eyes she sobbed out the words burning in her mind. "It's all ash and dust. Flames and fire. It all comes to dust. The pieces are scattered. The puzzle to defeat the Dark is scattered. She who banishes the Doctor holds the key. Victoria. Victoria." Collapsing into his arms she succumbed to her own darkness.

Taking a deep breath Theta sighed. "I think you had best remember that mate. Sounds like another one of her prophesies."

Theseus nodded. "I intend to. I have a feeling that soon I'll need that clue of hers. Sooner than I care to think about." Lifting her into his arms he started back towards the Citadel. "Come on. Let's get her back to bed."

X Fiery Twin X

AN2: Oh my. That last scene came out of nowhere. Just startled me it did. I wasn't planning to do another section on Gallifrey just yet, but it insisted. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.


	17. I Think

Time's Heart: Fiery Twin  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, nor any corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: Grrr. Sorry this wasn't up sooner, but the site was having a few issues with the login area the last couple of nights. But anyways, I'm glad that my dear readers have enjoyed my story so far. I hope that you all keep on enjoying it. Banana's for all.

X Fiery Twin X

"_It's all ash and dust. Flames and fire. It all comes to dust. The pieces are scattered. The puzzle to defeat the Dark is scattered. She who banishes the Doctor holds the key. Victoria. Victoria."_

X Fiery Twin X

_Sardit's_ cry of pain drew her bonded into her mindscape even through the Dark's interference. "_Sardit_?" Thera's voice was confused as she awoke to violet.

The Time Ship's carefully crafted human form faded into existence by her side. Her image wavered for a moment before solidifying. "I have news."

"Of the sort that you drew me here?" Thera made a shushing motion with her hand, indicating that the ship should be careful with her words.

_Sardit_ dipped her head slightly in acknowledgement. "_Verity_ has been injured again, as have I."

"The Dark."

"Yes." Her form wavered again. "His attack harmed the Storm and drew forth both Joy and Bad Wolf."

"The Bad Wolf." Thera shook her head and with a small hand signal, indicated that she was leaving. "I'll let the others know about this. Heaven's help any that get in _her_ way." She smiled sadly at her bonded and shook her head again. Her eyes narrowed as a thought came to her, a reminder of words that had long ago past her lips and been forgotten. "Joy came forth you say."

"Yes Mistress."

Thera bit her lip for a second before grimly grinning. "Then tell her this." She leaned forwards until her nose touched her ships. "The pieces are scattered. Victoria. A piece lies with her. Tell her that."

_Sardit_ nodded once before fading away leaving her bonded to wake on her own.

A moment later Thera woke to black. Gwen and Sarah Jane sat chatting quietly, her head resting on the elder Companion's thigh. Raising a hand she rubbed her eyes, exhaustion seeping into every line of her body.

"Scribe?" Sarah Jane's soft voice drew her attention. The younger woman's eyes were bright with fear and concern. "Are you all right?"

Thera nodded as she dropped her hand back to her side and lifted her head off the other woman's led. "_Sardit_ had a message for me."

Gwen sighed as she laid back onto her elbows. "How is that all accomplished then since you didn't go any where?"

Thera turned to look at the Welsh woman, her eyebrow arched in mild confusion. "Telepathy of course. _Sardit_ is my bonded after all." She sat up the rest of the way as she let her gaze stay into the distance. "Joy has appeared and brings the Sword with her. The Bad Wolf is coming."

"Bad Wolf." Gwen shared a sideways look with Sarah Jane. "Your mother is coming?"

With a beatific smile Thera laid back down, her head pillowed on her arms this time. "Yes. She comes. She comes."

X Fiery Twin X

Young Luke Smith had never heard anything quite like the sound that occurred when a large blue box appeared on his mothers front lawn. It was a gasping wheeze, a rumbling clunk, and the sound of an autumn storm all at the same time. It was like fire and ice and thunder and rain and it was everything and nothing. Feeling very unsure of himself, the teen carefully made his way through the damp grass. Lifting a hand to knock, he started as the doors opened on their own with a soft click.

Slowly he entered, stifling the urge to run. To look back as if it weren't here, or to run and wake Maria from her exhausted slumber.

Scanning the huge chamber, he remembered that his mum had told him once about the way the Doctor's ship worked. "Bigger on the inside."

"That she is."

Surprised by the soft voice, Luke jolted and backed into the now closed doors. "Who are you?"

The tall ginger-haired Time Lord smiled gently, one arm wrapped around still aching ribs. "Forgive me. I didn't mean to startle you. _Valencia_ told me that you were here. I thought to introduce myself."

The teen's mouth opened and closed wordlessly a few times, before he nodded. "It's okay." A soft chuckle was his answer. Watching as the other man carefully sat in the jump seat he moved towards the central column. "Are you the Physician?"

"Yes." Theseus nodded. He watched as the adolescent human circled _Valencia_'s control panels a thoughtful expression on his young face. Trying to put Luke at ease he started to babble a bit, something that his father was very good at as he well knew. "And this is _Valencia_. She is a TARDIS TTC Type-40. I'm sure that your mother has told you about them. Her theme is currently set to 'Astronomy.' Hence the planetarium look. I don't mind it, but I'm thinking of changing it."  
Luke looked at the other man curiosity shining in his eyes. "Why? It's fantastic."

Theseus nodded, glad that he had gotten a response out of the boy. He winced as a bruise on his neck pulled. Bringing a hand to it he grimaced, he was definitely not used to getting this beat up on his adventures. "It is fantastic. But I'm not sure that it fits me anymore."

"How do you mean?"

He shrugged. "Has your mother told you anything about regeneration?"

"A bit." Carefully choosing a spot on the floor that wasn't covered in debris, Luke sat down cross-legged. Looking up at the Time Lord he shared what little he knew. "She said that the Doctor has changed twice since she met him and a half a dozen times in between the last one. She said that every time that he changed, his personality would change just a bit as well."

"Exactly." Theseus made a sweeping gesture with his hand. "That's why I'm thinking about changing the looks of things in here. I just regenerated myself. So recently in fact that I'm still not entirely sure what sort of man I am now. I know that I'm ginger and that I worry a bit more about my family than I did, yesterday even." A thought coming to mind, he stood and gestured for the teen to do the same. "Come with me."

Luke followed obediently as the other led him farther into the ship. Just a few doors down the corridor he was led into a white room that had all sorts of medical equipment in it. And in the center of it all was a medical table with a sleeping blond woman. Curious he moved past his host to get a better look. Eyes widening he looked askance at the bruises that covered one side of her face.

"It was a very rough trip." Moving to his niece's side, he ran a loving hand through her now clean hair. "We crossed the dimensional barrier to get here. I'm afraid that we all came out of it a bit worse for wear. Teacher took it a little worse then I did."

"Why are you showing me this?"

Physician looked Luke straight in the eye, his gaze sorrowful. "So that you understand that it may be a day or so before we can go after what we need to get your mother and my sister back."

"Oh." Luke's eyes fell to the floor. He had thought that they would be able to go and find Sarah Jane immediately, but after seeing the damage not only to the ship, but to the two occupants of it, he couldn't help but understand. He was disappointed of course, who wouldn't be, but still. Nodding he shrugged. "What can I do to help?"

A soft female voice answered him_. "A search on Victoria might be in order. I cannot access my databanks at the moment and it may be sometime before I can."_

"Quite right." Theseus nodded and looked to the teen. "It seems that _Valencia_ has found our first destination. So, a bit of research then. Think you can manage that?"

"Yes. With Maria and Mister Smith helping I think I can." Addressing the ceiling he asked one question that he felt could help narrow the search a little. "Do you want me to look for the Queen or some place?"

"_Her Majesty."_

"Okay." Making a move to leave he held a hand out for the Time Lord to shake. "Thank you, for the help."

Taking the offered hand Theseus smiled, glad to have met this brilliant young man. "Thank you for yours. Now get going. We'll see you later."

X Fiery Twin X


	18. I Know

Time's Heart: Fiery Twin  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, nor any corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: Yay done. I actually had to do a bit of research for this one. It's not easy trying to find out what was going on in Victoria's life after she met the Doctor, but I hope that it turned out okay. Anyways here is the next installment of Time's Heart: Fiery Twin. Enjoy.

X Fiery Twin X

"_Oh." Luke's eyes fell to the floor. He had thought that they would be able to go and find Sarah Jane immediately, but after seeing the damage not only to the ship, but to the two occupants of it, he couldn't help but understand. He was disappointed of course, who wouldn't be, but still. Nodding he shrugged. "What can I do to help?"_

X Fiery Twin X

The house of Lungburrow was an austere and majestic building. And the study belonging to the current Kithriarch reflected the exterior, by being as cold and severe as he was. And the look in his eyes gave truth to that impression as he glared at the three young Time Lords standing before his desk. The two blonds stared at the floor, occasionally sneaking glances at each other, while their companion glared defiantly back at his uncle.

"What have you to say for yourselves?"

Theta shrugged and turned his head away.

"Well Seer?"

Amser looked up at the Kithriarch startled. "Sir?"

"Surely you saw this. What have you to say for your part in this?"

The young Time Lady shook her head in negation, as she looked to her brother for guidance. At his head shake, she bit her lip and stared at the floor. "I did forsee this. I couldn't tell you. It was inevitable. A fixed point." She looked up into his eyes and looked beyond. "It all comes to ash, fire and flame. In the end what I have seen will be."

Shaking his head the elder sighed. At times it was most bothersome to have a seer in the house, but he couldn't deny her presence. His nephew had declared the twins members of their house in a most public manner making it impossible to deny his words. "What have you seen that makes you say things of such ominous doom?"

"Things that you cannot know, old friend." A deep voice spoke from the entryway. With a soft step the imposing visage of the Lord President was brought into the light. With a gentle smile he beckoned Amser to his side. When she was in reach he took her hand and looked to his old friend. "I'm afraid that I must steal away these two. The future is calling to its own."

Theseus shook his head. "Why now?" His gaze never left the floor except for a brief glance at Theta. "Why now when we are so happy here?"

Theta flinched at the pain in his friend's voice. He didn't understand any of this. He just wanted his friends to stay. Rassilon had brought them into his life and now it looked like he was going to take them away. "Why?" His voice was soft as he shook his head. His throat tightened as tears threatened. "You gave them to me to protect. Why are you taking them from me? What have we done to deserve this?"

Rassilon moved forwards towards the young Time Lord, Amser at his side. Touching his cheek with his free hand he lifted Theta's chin so that he could meet his eyes. When he had, he smiled sadly. "This is not about taking away those under your protection child. This is the time for them to return to the era from whence they came." He released the young man and took a step away. Looking to Theseus once more he continued. "I made a promise to their grandmother to return them upon the completion of their schooling. With this latest instance of rebellion this promise of mine is the only thing keeping the three of you out of more trouble with the Council."

Theta's knees gave out from under him and he fell to sitting on the floor. "They would have exiled us like Thera said."

"Yes."

The first of many tears started to fall from his eyes. "They have to leave to save me."

Thera shook her head and placed a hand on his head. "No Theta. It is meant. The Council thinks that us leaving will curb your wild streak. But we know that that is not the truth. It is time for us to go. We have been here as long as we were ever meant to be." She sniffled. "It's not goodbye. It's really not."

Theseus looked between the sadly smiling Kithriarch and his crying friend. "I hate goodbyes. That's why I try never to say them. Rather say 'see you later.' And we will see you later, though it be many years from now. You are the best mate I've ever had and my sister thinks so too. And you know what? We were fantastic the three of us. Absolutely fantastic."

Rassilon cleared his throat. "Come children, it is time to go."

Thera and Theseus both nodded. Theseus moved to join his sister and the eldest of the Time Lords.

"Will I ever see you again?"

With a gentle nudge the Lord President sent the two out the door. Turning to the last of the three, he nodded once. "You will dear child. Of that you can be assured. Now we must go. Be well Theta and of course you as well my dear old friend."

"Of course. Be well my Lord." The Kithriarch bowed. Casting an eye to his nephew, he sighed. "I will care for my brother's son as if he were my own from this moment on."

"Thank you my friend."

X Fiery Twin X

-Victoria, Christmas 1899, Osborne House, Isle of Wight-

"So tell me Doctor, why has my son brought you here this time?"

The diminutive monarch sat lips pursed, behind her mahogany desk. The desk itself was dwarfed by the sheer size of the bookcases and windows of her study. The man she glared at, was young, gingered haired, and reminded her greatly of someone that she had met nearly two decades prior.

"The same as ever Ma'am, concern for your health and well-being." A slight tone of amusement laced his voice as he pulled a small book off one of the many shelves.

Victoria let out a rather unladylike snort at this. "Posh. Our son is only concerned for when he shall inherit the throne." Leaning back in her chair, she folded her hands in her lap. "Now Doctor, clarify one issue for us."

Looking up from his book, he nodded. "Of course Majesty."

"Your name. My son merely called you Sir Thomas. What is it truly?"

The young physician started at this. "Your son did not tell you Ma'am?"

"He neglected to."

Bowing deeply he apologized. "Forgive the oversight Majesty. I humbly introduce myself to your Majesty as the Physician, Aiden Thomas McCrimmon."

Victoria's eyes narrowed. "We had thought you familiar to us. Sir Doctor, James McCrimmon of Tardis, was he your father?"

Aiden tipped his head in acknowledgement. "Yes Ma'am."

"We had thought you familiar. Tell us what has become of your parents since we saw them last. Has fate been kind to them, or have they suffered the calamity that we warned them of?"

Aiden turned his head to stare out one of the windows at the grey Southern English sky. "Calamity your Majesty. Not long after you met, their very existence was torn asunder. They have long been separated, kept apart through all of time and space."

The elderly monarch nodded mystified, but understanding of the gravity of his words. "Your words are strange like your fathers. But we do understand separation and sorrow. Have they no hope of reunion?"

Aiden turned back to look at her. "My sister and I have dedicated out lives to it. We have found a way to breach the Void, but not yet a path for our mother's return. There are forces that seek to destroy our family, that seek to thwart our efforts. Forces darker than even your Torchwood Institute could imagine." He took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "One of the pieces to the puzzle is here Majesty. That is why I've come. Your health is part of why I stay."

The queen looked taken aback. "Our health? Why should you care for such? You owe us nothing. We banished your parents."

He nodded. "I know, however I cannot let you die before your time. You have been poisoned Majesty and I seek to reverse it."

"Poison?"

"Yes." He pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and scanned Victoria quickly. "And as I thought, the poison is not of local origin."

With a shuddering sigh the aging monarch leaned forward and placed her clasped hands on her desk. "Can you cure it with your strange foreign science?"

"Yes."

Nodding, she pulled a clean sheet of parchment to herself and started to write. "Cure me and forgiveness for your family is yours."

Aiden bowed. "Thank you Majesty."

X Fiery Twin X


	19. Enough Of Hate

Time's Heart: Fiery Twin  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, nor any corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: It's been a bit I know. However, it is always a struggle to find time to type when the computer you are using is not your own. Mine tried to fry it-self, so it's in the shop getting fixed. Hopefully it will be done soon. But anyways, love and peace to you all, and hopefully more bananas for me.

X Fiery Twin X

"_Poison? … Can you cure it with your strange foreign science?"_

"_Yes."_

_Nodding, she pulled a clean sheet of parchment to herself and started to write. "Cure me and forgiveness for your family is yours."_

X Fiery Twin X

-Victoria, New Years Day 1900, East Cowes, Isle of Wight-

Taking a deep breath a young dark haired man took a hesitant step out of a quiet alleyway onto a busy sidewalk. Looking around he smiled softly, the look of uneasiness not fading from his eyes. He had found himself in the middle of a shopping district, if the milliner, modiste and haberdasher shops across the cobblestone street were any indication. Looking up at the gray sky he sighed. England again. He never could seem to get away from it. Even with a different appearance, it still pulled him back time after time. Smelling the salty air gave away that this was a seaport town and one very well thought of by the people, if the well kept nature of the buildings were any indication.

A whistling bobby paused as he passed by to give a quick nod to the wild haired young sailor. "Afternoon."

"Afternoon."

"Did you have a quiet sea on the voyage in?"

Smiling in a congenial manner, the young man nodded. "Calm enough to make the crossing with little trouble. Fair weather always makes for a good voyage."

The policeman grinned and thinking no more of it tipped his hat, made his fare-thee-wells and continued down the sidewalk.

A feminine giggle drew the young mans attention to the alleyway behind him. "Well?"

Trying to stifle her giggles, Jenny stepped out into the light, a long black skirt brushing around her ankles. "That was funny. He thought you were a sailor."

"There is nothing the matter with that. Sailor, Time traveler, same difference. Let them think what they will." Surveying her attire he gave a nod of approval. "Very Victorian."

"Well I hope so. The ship picked them out for me."

"Well, she always has had good taste." He let out a soft laugh. Feeling a _nudge_ he turned quickly to see a young ginger haired man staring at him from across the street. Recognizing the other male he grinned. Checking the street for clearance, he jogged off across it as quickly as he dared, Jenny close behind. When he got close he swept the other man into a bear hug, laughing in delight. "Theseus!"

Aiden laughed as his dear old friend set him back on his feet. "Theta, what a delight. And with a new face no less." Straightening the cuffs of his overcoat, he glanced into the now confused depths of his father's eyes. "Bit off on our timelines then. I just will have to remember to forget to tell you all about this. Anyways I should let you know where I am so that you don't tell me anymore than you have to."

Theta nodded. "That sounds fine. I imagine that I'm quite a bit farther ahead than you are though."

"In all likelihood, but no matter." Pulling out his psychic paper he handed it to the other man. "As you can see by that, I am currently the Physician Royale. I am currently in attendance on her Majesty Queen Victoria." Taking a look at his father's companion he smiled and held out his hand. "A pleasure. I am Physician."

Smiling back the blond girl took the older mans hand shaking it with a firm grip. "I'm Jenny."

Looking back and forth between his children, Theta gasped. "You've never met her?"

"No. Should I have?"

Handing the papers back to his son he nodded. "Nearly a century ago by my reckoning." He shook his head. "No need to tell me when you are then. Eh't emit fo eh't Krad. Right?"

"Sey. I need a key though and the three pieces to the puzzle of how to defeat him."

"Well I know that you get one from Victoria, the second is Jenny, and you never told me the third. You told me that it didn't matter, only that Thera knew and that was all that did matter. So…" he shrugged. "This is probably why _Valencia_ brought us here, to bring the two of you together. So, my job is done." Turning to Jenny, he smiled and pulled her into a hug. "It's been fun. I'll see you soon, so you take good care of your big brother in the mean time alright?" Nodding to Aiden he turned and ran back across the street, disappearing into the alleyway he had originally appeared out of.

Confused she just nodded and watched as her father once more left her behind. "Dad?"

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Theseus smiled softly in sympathy. "Don't mind Father, it's just his way. Come along there are introductions and explanations to be made."

Gently tugging her along, he led the startled girl to a lemonade parlour. Setting her in a seat out of the way of prying ears, he started to explain the circumstances that led up to their father abandoning her to his care and why it was a necessary thing, as well as just who he was in relation to her.

X Fiery Twin X

The sound of eternity was slow to fade as the ship known as _Kronos_ came into being deep in the heart of Torchwood One. Opening his doors the ancient one allowed his passengers to disembark, as he released the tow lines that had tethered his descendents to him.

A soft sigh fell from Rassilon's lips as he escorted Thera off of his ship and back into the same room he had taken them from so long ago. Theseus followed behind him, quieter than he usually was. Setting the quietly crying girl into a large armchair, he looked at the boy and nodded. Once he had turned the girl over to her brother, he silently took his leave.

The sound of _Kronos'_ engines told Theseus that their guardian had left. Wrapping his arms around his sister he sighed himself as she just kept crying. "Please stop Thera. It can't be as bad as all that. We're home now. We're back where we belong."

Thera shoved him away with a loud sob. "You don't get it do you. They're gone. It's all gone. Everything we knew is gone."

Theseus shook his head in disbelief. "You're just distraught. Everything isn't gone. It's just that we're in a different dimension from everyone else."

"No you're not listening." She shook her head. Standing she turned her back on him and stared blankly at the two TARDIS ships standing silent in a corner of the white room. "It's gone."

"What is gone?"

Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and whispered her answer. "Gallifrey."

"Gallifrey? But we just came from there. It can't be gone."

She turned and looked her twin straight in the eye. "It's come to fire and ash just like I said. Our family is all that is left. We are all that remains. Gallifrey is gone. Aiden, it's all gone."

"She's right Aiden. The Doctor told me a long time ago, that he's all that's left."

Turning Theseus stared disbelieving at his mother. Her face was so sad looking, as if she had lost her own world as well. Shaking his head he watched as she came farther into the room and held out a hand to Thera. When she had hugged her daughter she once more turned to her son.

Seeing that he needed an explanation that his sister could not give, she sighed and motioned for him to sit. "Please listen, Aiden." Sighing when he stayed standing, she shrugged and sat herself, pulling Amser down to sit by her side. "Eleven years ago, by my timeline, I was a shop-girl. I worked for a place called Henrik's. It was there that I met your dad. I had to take the deposits down to Wilson in the basement, but there were Auton's there instead. They're made of living plastic. Your dad blew up my job trying to get rid of them. After I helped him get rid of their leader, he offered to take me with him. I never quite went back after that. I loved traveling with your dad. He taught me all sorts of things. But one thing I never forgot was this one time we ended up in this underground museum filled with all this alien stuff. It wasn't supposed to be there. One of the things that they had was a Dalek." Rose sighed and wiped a tear from her cheek. She rarely spoke about the Doctor, and she always seemed to cry when she did. "I had never seen him scared before. But he was scared of the Dalek. Even though he thought it was the last one. He was so angry when he found out that it was there. He told the guys running the place to destroy it, because its race was the reason that all of his people were gone. He told the Dalek when he saw that it was just as scared as he was that he was the reason that the other ones were gone. I don't know if that's true or not. He wouldn't tell me, but if he was responsible for all of his people and the Daleks being wiped out then I'm sure he had no other choice."

"He was forced into it." Amser's voice was quiet as she spoke. Her eyes not seeing anything but what she spoke of. "The Council made him. They figured that he was the only one who could stop the Time War. But they were wrong. It's never quite over. Wherever there is a Time Lord, there is a Dalek. Where there is Light there is Dark."

"Time Lords are the Light."

"Yes."

"And the Daleks are the Dark?"

"Sometimes."

The sound of someone running through the halls caught the attention of the three occupants of the room to the just slightly open door.

"She's here."

Aiden laughed lightly at his sister's sarcasm, as their grandmother burst through the door as stopped dead to stare at them.

"Oh my babies are home." Throwing herself into her grandson's arms, she let out a loud sob and started to cry into his shirt. "And you're both of you all grown up too."

"Hello Grandmother."

Jackie's hands came up and patted his cheeks several times before she threw her arms around him again. "Oh my little Aiden is all grown up."

Looking at his mother, he sighed. "It's Physician now. I'm a doctor. And…" He paused for a moment as Jackie squeezed her arms tighter around his ribs. "Thera is called Scribe. She's a historian and a Seer."

"Thera?"

She nodded. "We took new names when we entered school. No one on Gallifrey uses their real names after they turn eight. There's power in a name, especially a Gallifreyian one. There are some who would take advantage if they knew them. So, we took new names, just like Dad did. I'm Thera and he's Theseus."

Jackie pulled her head back to look at her granddaughter. "What do they mean?"

"Thera means Reaper or Harvester, and Theseus means Watcher."

Rose smiled and hugged her daughter to herself again. "They fit. And your father's name what does it mean?"

"Theta?" Amser looked at the floor not sure how to answer. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

"Death."

Aiden snorted. "Don't make it sound so morbid Thera." He looked to the pale face of his mother, a reassuring smile on his own. "In science Theta Sigma is used to identify something that looks younger than it actually is. That is what his name means."

Thera shrugged. "He is the Oncoming Storm, the Bringer of Darkness, the Destroyer of Worlds. The Lonely God. Or have you forgotten all that I have seen and told you of it."

"How can I forget with a sister such as you?"

The two smiled conspiratorially and laughed, both resolving to not speak of such things with their human relations again. Mother's should not be made to cry by their childrens words after all.

X Fiery Twin X


	20. To Know

Time's Heart: Fiery Twin  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, nor any corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: Banana's to all. And I did see Children of Earth. It made me cry. But not to worry, I've worked it into future chapters a bit, so as to keep up some continuity with the canon universe. I hope you'll all be happy with it. But you'll have to wait for next time for it. This one does a bit of set-up for it and finishes what I've been doing for now, so I hope you like it.

X Fiery Twin X

"_Theta? Death."  
"In science Theta Sigma is used to identify something that looks younger than it actually is. That is what his name means."  
"He is the Oncoming Storm, the Bringer of Darkness, the Destroyer of Worlds. The Lonely God. Or have you forgotten all that I have seen and told you of it."_

X Fiery Twin X

May 2009

With a sigh Ianto shook his head, trying not to yawn. Organizing the archives was not his idea of fun. But what Jack wanted, Jack got. Of course it wasn't just pointless busy work. Jack actually had given him a reason for it. His family needed information that could be and probably was hidden in the archives.

Jack had a family.

That thought still caused him to sigh a bit. Jack had always been alone and had never mentioned family and so it was a bit of a surprise to actually have to think of him as a family man. It was just something that he had never really thought of before. Of course the news of Jack's formal adoption had come just before Gwen had been taken, so they were all still in shock over it all.

"At least we're not still under lock-down." He muttered softly as he opened a metal lock-box marked '1900-Victoria.' Shuffling through the contents his face turned white as he saw a very familiar name hand written on a fat parchment envelope.

It was addressed, 'Sir Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood Institute, To Be Opened Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine, By Order of Her Most Imperial Majesty, Victoria, Queen of England, Empress of India.'

Clasping the envelope in shaking hands, Ianto ran out of the Archives towards Jack's office. "Jack!"

Ianto's loud cry brought everyone out of the woodwork. Even the Doctor popped his head out of his TARDIS to see what all the fuss was about.

Jack was smiling softly as he came out of his office, his hands raised in a calming manner. "Whoa. Calm down. Where's the fire?"

Panting, Ianto thrust the envelope into the other man's hands. "This is for you." Taking a deep breath he coughed. "Queen Victoria sent it."

"Queen Victoria?" Donna laughed nervously. "She wouldn't have known the Captain. Right?"Her face was as confused as her voice.

Jack nodded as he turned the envelope over and over again in his hands. "I did return to this Earth in the nineteenth century, just in time for the Diamond Jubilee, but I stayed well away from London back then. I didn't want to run into the Doctor too early." Gently he ran his thumb over the royal seal, before carefully working the wax free from the paper. Setting the antique wax seal aside on the nearest desk, he opened the envelope and pulled a thick sheaf of papers out. Unfolding them, he silently read the words that had been so carefully set to paper over one hundred years prior. A tear ran down his cheek as he smiled. Looking up at his friends his smile changed to a grin as he read the cover letter out loud to them.

"_Sir Captain, this letter comes to you at a point Our Physician assures Us will be a proper time. Our royal health is failing. Though cured of the alien poisons, Our mind and heart were damaged. We do not blame our most loyal Physician for this, as he did as he promised and thus We do as We promised. Enclosed you will find, written in Our Own hand, a decree pardoning Sir Doctor of Tardis and his companion Dame Rose of the Powell Estates of all their offences against this one's royal personage. Sir Captain, we place this in your most loyal hands to dispense with. See that Our will be done._

_Her Most Serene Highness, Victoria, Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, Empress of India."_

Handing the Doctor the second parchment, he laughed in delight. "Well it looks like the Physician charmed the old Lady. You're a free man Doc."

Theta grinned as his red-haired granddaughter hugged him from behind. "Well I guess he found what he was looking for then. Which means, that we are one step closer to getting the girls back."

X Fiery Twin X

-Victoria, January 1901-

"Must you go Doctor?" Victoria's voice was faint as she lay in her black draped bed.

"Unfortunately, I must ma'am. I found what I came for." He squeezed her frail hand as gently as he could. "I wish I could have fixed everything as well majesty. But I'm afraid it is beyond even my reach to cure."

"These last few years you have been such a great comfort to us. And we thank you." She sighed softly. "You seem a man to have never had your heart broken. So before the others come I will tell you a great truth. The human heart is a delicate thing and oft times when broken it cannot be mended. And even when it can be mended, it will not take the same shape as it had before. So do not blame yourself my dear Physician. My heart broke many years ago, it has just taken my body this long to catch up with it."

"Yes ma'am." Aiden stood then, releasing her hand. Bowing one last time, he smiled faintly. "Then I shall take my final leave of your Majesty. Your words will go with me always."

"See that they do. Go with our blessing. Fare well Aiden McCrimmon."

He nodded and took his leave of the dying monarch, allowing her children and grandchildren into the room as he left. Slowly he made his way through the palace's spacious halls, back to the small garden where he had sent _Valencia_. Running a hand over her doors he sighed sadly. Perhaps his parents felt as Victoria did. Broken hearts.

X Fiery Twin X

Luke stared intently at the chess board laid out before him, ignoring the smug grin on his blond opponents face. Seeing his opening he smiled and moved. "Check-mate."

Jenny's smile faded as she stared down at the game board. After having won the last five games, it was hard to believe that she had lost. "How did you do that?"

His answer was very matter-of-fact. "I've been analyzing your strategies. You have very good plans of attack, but sometimes you forget your defense and leave yourself open to sneak attacks from behind your front lines."

"Oh." Jenny stared down at her pieces for a moment before laughing. "You're right. They're all lined up to attack and the commander is all by himself."

"The king, yes." Luke looked away to scan the control room. "Do you think he'll be back soon?"

"He should be. That's why he skipped us forward a bit." Jenny looked at the softly glowing central column. "He said that he'd be here as soon as he could. It's only been five and a half hours, after all."

The front doors opened just as she said this. Theseus stepped through, a black medical bag in his hand.

"Is she all right now?"Ruffling the teen boy's hair, Aiden smiled sadly as she shook his head. "I was able to cure the poison, but some things unfortunately are meant."

Jenny looked at the date set on the control panel. "01-22-1901." She shrugged confused. "I don't know Earth history. Is that date significant?"

Luke nodded as the meaning sank in. "January twenty-second, 1901, is the day Her Imperial majesty Queen Victoria died."

Her voice was quiet as she replied. "Oh. I'm sorry."

Aiden gave his baby sister a one armed hug. "It's all right. We have what we came for and more besides. It's time to go home for a bit. I think we might be able to get the girls back."

X Fiery Twin X

"So they're gone then are they?"

Theta cringed inwardly as his friend clapped a hand on his shoulder. His pale blue eyes were like ice as he stared out over the valley below his family's ancestral home. But the silver and red forest gave him little comfort. His only comfort came from _Verity's_ golden presence in the back of his mind. Lord Rassilon had been kind enough to let his keep her on condition that he not let slip how she had come into his possession.

"You awake in there? I asked you a question."

Blinking at the annoyance in Kochei's voice, he sighed and finally answered. "They've gone home."

"Gone home. Banished from Gallifrey proper is more like. Steal a ship and that's what you get. Stuck doing 'research' on some boring little outpost where nothing ever happens."

Theta shook his head. "No Kochei, they've really gone home."

"Oh." He tapped out a drum beat for a few measures on the balconies railing. "Well that's a bit of a letdown isn't it. I suppose the stolen ship was made up too?"

"Yup."

"How disappointing." He sighed. "So what are you going to do now that they're gone?"

"All that I'm allowed to do at this point, get married and add to the family line."

"How dull, but, oh well. We all do what we have to." Kochei turned to go back inside. "I'm going off to explore for a bit." Turning back he grinned oblivious to his friend shying away. "I finally chose a name."

"And what's that?" Theta didn't want to hear, because somehow he already knew.

"The Master."

Thera's final private warning echoed through his mind as he turned back to stare blankly out over the valley. "_Beware the treachery of the Master, for destruction follows wherever he goes_."

X Fiery Twin X

AN2: On Jan. 22, 1901, Queen Victoria died at age 81of a cerebral hemorrhage after reigning for 63 years and 7 months. She was the mother of 9 children, all of whom had issue. In her lifetime she had 40 grand-children and 37 great-grandchildren. The current monarchy is descended from her line.

X Fiery Twin X


	21. That For

Time's Heart: Fiery Twin  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, nor any corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: I always did think that the Master was a bit creepy, and the warning at the ending of Planet of the Dead just confirmed it for me. I mean that man has more lives than a house full of cats. It makes me shudder. Anyways… It's time for Rose to be in the story again. Hope you like.

X Fiery Twin X

_Perhaps his parents felt as Victoria did. Broken hearts._

"It's time to go home for a bit. I think we might be able to get the girls back."

"There you go. I can taste it. Oestrogen. Definitely oestrogen. You take the pill, flush it away, it enters the water cycle, feminises the fish. Goes all the way up into the sky, then falls all the way back down onto me. Contraceptives in the rain. Love this planet. Still, at least I won't get pregnant. Never doing that again." – CJH Torchwood ep01.01

X Fiery Twin X

Pete's World, July 2019

Flashing lights and blaring sirens welcomed Ianto back into consciousness. The last he remembered, Jack was shoving him onto the lift.

"Oh, God, I'm dead."

Lifting his head from the cold floor he came face to face with a young woman with old looking brown eyes.

"No you're not." She smiled. "You're in Torchwood Three. I'm Rose. You?"

"Jones, Ianto Jones."

Rose pushed herself up and sat cross-legged on the concrete floor. "Well Jones, Ianto Jones, welcome to Torchwood."

Ianto's head swam as he pushed himself up to sitting. Touching a hand to his temple revealed why. He had a lump the size of an egg and blood covering the side of his face. "Oh."

Rose motioned to the small woman behind her. "Let's get you cleaned up. This is our doctor Toshiko Harper."

The Tosh whose face he looked up into was nearly a decade older than the one he had watched die in Jack's arms not two weeks prior. "Tosh? How?"

"You seem surprised to see me. You must know me." Tosh was careful not to make any sudden moves as she set her bag down. Pulling a small penlight out, she shined it in his right and then his left eye. "Your eyes are reacting normally, so no concussion."

"You're really Tosh?"

The petite doctor giggled. "Yes I am really Tosh. You sound like Owen when I do something he doesn't expect."

Ianto's eyes widened in shock. "Owen's alive."

"Yeah. Doctor Owen Harper, my husband. I'm guessing from your reactions, that you know the both of us."

He nodded, his breathing heavy as tears started to well up in his pale blue eyes. "You're both dead. I was there, two weeks ago when you died."

Rose and Tosh shared a look over the distraught man's head, as Tosh took him into her arms to comfort him. "Ianto, can you tell us what year it is, where you come from?"

"2009. Why?"

Tosh gasped and Rose simply smiled. "You're on the other side of the Rift Ianto. You're on a parallel Earth. Whatever happened over there never happened here. Tosh and Owen are both still alive."

Pulling a sanitary wipe from her pocket, Tosh swiped at the tears running down his cheeks. At his hiss of pain she apologized. "Sorry. Looks like you've got a cut under all that blood."

"Tosh."

"Yeah." Wiping more blood off, she frowned to see a fist sized bruise and a two inch gash.

"I missed you."

She smiled sadly. "I'm not your Tosh."

"I know." His lips quirked up into a tiny smile. "But you're still Tosh."

Tosh's smile faded a bit as a thought occurred to her. "How did you get here? The crossing has been almost entirely closed for more than a decade."

"There was a bomb. Jack…" Ianto swallowed hard and stared at the floor, tears once again in his eyes. "He tried to get me out. I just remember heat and noise, and then I woke up here."

"What about the Doctor, or Scribe, or the Physician?" Rose asked quietly.

"Scribe is still missing. The others all left over a month ago, after Gwen and Sarah Jane were returned and the Doctor's TARDIS was fixed." Pulling away from Tosh he sat up straight again. "_Sardit_ was still in the Vault, so she should be all right. I've only ever seen _Valencia_ once, right before they left."

"What happened?"

"Physician came back with, whatever it was that he got from Queen Victoria. He only told Jack and the Doctor what it was. Said that Owen and Tosh didn't need to know. Jack says that a lot actually. I chose not to know." Ianto smiled again before shrugging. "Whatever it was, he gave it to the Doctor and two days later they were gone. The girls were back an hour after they left."

Rose nodded. "Sounds like them." She rose to her feet. "Well Ianto Jones, you are more than welcome to stay here at Torchwood Three, or you can come back to London with me and Tosh."

The decision wasn't hard for him to make. "I think I'll go with you two. At least then I'll be with people I know."

X Fiery Twin X

May 2009

The sound of TARDIS engines broke the late night quiet of the Hub, rousing Ianto from the light doze he had fallen into. Raising himself from the couch with a yawn he pulled his mobile from his pocket. After sending a quick text to Jack, he moved to stand in front of the new police box's front doors. A minute or two later, he shrugged. Moving away, he called back over his shoulder, "I'm getting coffee. Let me know if you want any."

Three hours later he was woken again, but this time in a more pleasant manner.

"Good morning sleepy beauty." Jack smiled as the other man blinked up at him sleepily. Noting the half filled coffee cup on the end table, he yawned. "Late night?"

Ianto nodded. "I was waiting for you. Physician arrived a couple of hours ago, but no activity otherwise. The Doctor left shortly after you did. He said that the girls were sleeping and that he was going out to get chips."

"OK. Since you're up anyways, would you care to join me in my office?"

Ianto quirked an eyebrow. "Are you propositioning me?"

Jack grinned at his lover's question. "No. But what would you say if I were?"

"The same thing I'd say if you weren't."

Laughing he helped Ianto to feet. "Physician finally came out from hiding, so it's time for you to meet my nephew."

"What's he like?"

"I don't know." He pointed at the two ships that took up a corner of the Hub. "First time I've ever seen Valencia too." He sighed, a distant look coming into his ancient eyes. "The Doctor figures that I'm the reason that they were able to survive the other universe. He thinks that those four days I was in a coma last year were…" he paused unable to find the right words. "I gave him a copy of the recordings. I've been going through them in my spare time. Haven't even made a dent."

Ianto nodded as he threaded an arm under Jacks' coat in a half hug. "Well if Tosh is right, and she usually is about these things, then we got nearly a decade's worth of recordings in just those four days."

"I haven't even gotten through a year of it." He shook his head, leaning into Ianto as he tried to smile. "It's hard listening to them sometimes."

Deciding that they had both gotten more than melancholy enough, Ianto asked a question that went in a totally different direction. "So, how old is he?"

"The Physician?"

"Yeah I mean is he closer to my age, or yours?"

Jack laughed and shrugged. "You know what, I don't know."

"You don't know." Ianto laughed as he moved out of Jack's arms. "It's rare to hear you say that."

"Yeah, well it's been known to happen." Jack shrugged again. "I do know that he is young. But for a Time Lord, young is anything under about two to three hundred."

"I'm one hundred eighty-six years old on my last birthday."

The softly cultured voice startled the two men. Turning to look behind them, they saw a young ginger haired gentleman dressed in Victorian era garb.

"You must be Theseus."

The young man nodded with an elegant tilt of his head. "And you must be Uncle Jack." Turning to the other man he smiled. "And you are?"

"Jones, Ianto Jones. I work with Jack. Um… I mean obviously." Looking very flustered he turned to Jack and pointed at the office behind them. "I'll meet you in there sir."

The two older men watched as Ianto beat a hasty retreat into the board room. Jack shook his head with a smile as Theseus burst into laughter.

"Oh. He's adorable Uncle. How'd you think he'd like it if I started calling him Auntie?"

Jack laughed. "He'd probably shoot you."

"Uncle it is then." His head tipped to the side as he listened internally to a call few could hear. "Dad's on his way in. Should be here in a few. We should probably go in and wait. He's about to get the surprise of a lifetime."

X Fiery Twin X


	22. Destruction Ice

Time's Heart: Fiery Twin  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, nor any corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: Sorry for the long delay. Uni has been kicking my butt. Now that it's winter holidays I'm hoping to get a couple of my long delayed chapters out. Hope you like this one, more to follow soon.

X Fiery Twin X

_"Oh, God, I'm dead."_

"_No you're not… You're in Torchwood Three. I'm Rose. You?"_

"_Jones, Ianto Jones."_

"_Well Jones, Ianto Jones, welcome to Torchwood."_

_There's one thing I always meant to ask Jack. Back in the old days. I wanted to know about that Doctor of his. The man who appears out of nowhere and saves the world. Except sometimes he doesn't. All those times in history when there was no sign of him, I wanted to know why not. But I don't need to ask any more. I know the answer now. Sometimes the Doctor must look at this planet and turn away in shame. I'm recording this in case anyone ever finds it, so you can see... you can see how the world ended. GC Torchwood 03.05_

_  
_X Fiery Twin X

Cardiff, May 2009 – T-Minus 58days …

Sitting alone in the conference room was unnerving on good days. But today it wasn't that he was alone, because he wasn't, it was rather that he had a pretty blonde girl staring at him with oddly familiar brown eyes. "Hello."

"Hi."

The young human cleared his throat and sighed. "I'm Ianto."

"Jenny."

"Umm," He fidgeted for a few minutes, uncomfortable in the silence. "Would you like coffee?"

Jenny shook her head.

"No. Tea?"

She just shook her head again.

He sighed. "Right no tea. So I guess we'll just wait here quietly for Jack and Physician, then shall we?"

This time she nodded.

"Right."

"Jenny, be nice." Physician chided as he entered the conference room. This is the Administrator, our uncle, Ianto Jones."

"Uncle?" Ianto squeaked and stood quickly. "What are you talking about?" Backing towards the door he gasped when a large pair of hands landed on his shoulders. "Jack!"

"You okay?"

Ianto shook his head. "Can we talk for a minute? Alone?"

"Yeah." He nodded to the siblings. "I'll be back in a minute." Escorting Ianto out into the hall, he took the young man's hands. "What's going on?"

"He called me uncle."

Jack's eyebrows rose in shock. "That's it?"

Ianto bowed his head. "You know how I am about things like that. I'm not ready for that. Not from the Doctor's family. Not yet Jack."

Taking his exhausted lover's face into his hands Jack smiled softly into pale blue eyes. "Do you know why he calls you that?" Seeing the confusion in his face, Jack continued. "Because even though the two of them haven't met you before today, Scribe has." Releasing Ianto's face, he took the younger mans hands. "I don't know what she Saw, but whatever it was, it convinced her that it was okay to accept you as family. That's a big thing I know, believe me I know. But being part of this family means never being alone again. It means always having a place to call home. It means that someone's always there when you call for help."

Ianto started shaking his head. "I'm not ready. I'm sorry Jack, but I'm not ready for that."

Jack nodded, his eyes sad. "Okay."

"Really?"

He nodded and kissed Ianto's forehead. "Yeah. It's not something that'll go away, so whenever you are ready is okay."

"Thank you Jack."

Jack released Ianto and gave him a light push towards his office. "Go rest. I'll be there in a little bit."

The young man nodded as he yawned.

He stood watching until Ianto had disappeared into his office. Jack then turned and went back into the conference room.

"Everything alright?"

Jack answered Physicians concern with a soft smile. "He's just tired and a bit overwhelmed. He's just needs time and some rest."

Jenny looked over at her brother. "What's the plan?"

"Well for one, we don't tell dad. And two," he pulled a bronze medallion out of his pocket and tossed it onto the table. "We call the Dark."

"And three?"

"We trade you for the two human females." Receiving glares from two different directions, Theseus rushed to explain. "He thinks I'm the Sword, I'm not. I'm the Shield, I guard our family. Thera deliberately misled everyone." Seeing a blank look on Jenny's face he tried to explain. "Our father is the Oncoming Storm. Thera is the Storm's Heart, I am the Shield, and you Jenny are the Storm's Sword. Amser could explain it so much better than me." Sitting heavily he tried to gather his thoughts. How do you explain to your baby sister that she is the key to the defeat of the Dark? "Thera is so much cleverer than I when it comes to words. I'm a doctor, not a writer. She told me what needed to be said, but she's much better at saying it." He looked quickly at Jack, before turning back to Jenny. "There is much you don't know. Either of you." Picking up the medallion he tossed it to Jack. "That is how we call him."

"This is what you got from Victoria?"

"Yes Jack. He gave it to her when she was a child, before he became the Dark. That is a piece of his TARDIS. It is a key of sorts."

Jack turned the small metal piece over and over in his hand nearly mesmerized by the elegant circles and lines of Gallifreyan script. "It's a name isn't it?"

"Yes. _Salin_. His opposite and _Verity's_ youngest is _Erius_."

"What do they mean? I know that _Verity_ is Truth and the other two are Sorrow and Joy."

Jenny spoke up then, her voice confused. "I thought that you called your ship _Valencia_?"

"Yes _Valencia_, the valiant one, is Joy. Scribe's TARDIS is _Sardit_, which in English is Sorrow."

"Oh. So _Salin_ is what?"

"War." Gesturing at Jack he continued. "Jack's key is the seed of _Erius_, whose name means Freedom or Peace, which ever you prefer."

"So we call him, then we give him Jenny. Why?"

"Because the only way to defeat the Dark, is to get the Sword, Jenny, directly to his heart. He took those who he thought were our hearts, so the way to defeat him is through his."

Jack smiled as he heard footsteps outside the door. "A sword through the heart." Waiting for the Doctor to fully enter the room he laughed. "Love is the strongest weapon there is after all, right?"

X Fiery Twin X

"I want to go home." Gwen's voice was tired as she rolled from her side to her back.

Sarah Jane leaned back until her was nearly laying herself. "We all do." She looked over to where Scribe had been meditating for the last several hours. "She's still at it."

The younger woman looked over at the Time Lord a small smile forming on her lips. "She reminds me of Jack sometimes. So very young, but so old at the same time."

"The Doctor is like that too." Sarah Jane laughed. "He used to look older than me, but that was six regenerations ago. Have you ever met him?"

"Just once." Gwen motioned to Scribe. "Her TARDIS broke down when she came through the Rift. They needed our help to keep it safe while it healed. It's in the Vault at the Hub."

"The Hub?"

"It's what we call where we work. It was Torchwood Three before Canary Wharf. Now it's just the Hub."

"Canary Wharf, the Cybermen and the Daleks killed a lot of people that day."

"Dad stopped them, but he couldn't save all those people." Thera was facing them now, though her eyes remained closed. "It's also how he and Mum got separated." She opened her eyes to look at them both. "It's the reason Uncle Jack met Uncle Ianto. Their being together is a fact." She sighed. "Facts are rare things in the universe." She smiled softly. "My parents are a fact. The Captain and the Administrator are a fact. And a very important fact is that every companion of the Doctor or the Captain are meant to be companions, for better or worse."

Sarah Jane nodded in agreement. She knew well that feeling. That everything connected to the Doctor in her life, was meant to be that way. After all she wouldn't have her son if it weren't for knowing the Doctor.

Gwen turned away. It was hard to hear that your life could be controlled like that. She had always thought that her life was her own. "That's not my life."

"It's just the fact that you work with Jack. How you interact with him is your choice. "Sarah Jane sat up again. "Whether or not you take the hand extended to you is your choice. I did and I've never regretted it."

"You two should rest, you'll be home soon." With that Thera turned away again, leaving the two humans to their thoughts.

X Fiery Twin X


	23. Is Also Great

Time's Heart: Fiery Twin  
A Doctor Who Fanfiction  
Rating T

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters and/or quotes, nor any corporate entity mentioned herein. However any original characters are mine, and are available for use with permission.

AN: Happy New Year's! As promised here's the next chapter.

X Fiery Twin X

"_Because the only way to defeat the Dark, is to get the Sword, Jenny, directly to his heart. He took those who he thought were our hearts, so the way to defeat him is through his."_  
"_A sword through the heart. Love is the strongest weapon there is after all, right?"_

_But you be careful because your song is ending, sir. It is returning, it is returning through the dark. And then, Doctor... Oh but then, he will knock four times. –DW:PotD_

_  
_X Fiery Twin X

Cardiff, Christmas Eve 2009

Jack stood tall and lonely on the edge of the tallest building in Cardiff, staring out over all that he knew was no longer his.

"We can't do anything."

The sorrowful voice drew his attention to the figure standing next to him, her crimson coat billowing in the wind. "You're back." Meeting dark eyes, he nearly gasped at the pain he saw in them. "What's wrong?"

Letting her head fall, Jack's companion spoke quietly, her words holding tears. "His song is ending and there is nothing we can do to help him. It is fixed. Before the new year he will die."

"No." At her nod he sank to his knees. The implications were terrifying. "He can't die."

"He will. Whether he regenerates or not depends on who is there to support him. If no one is there he will die, even knowing that we are returning to his side. He is old Uncle, far older than he admits to, but it is humanity that gives him his vitality and strength." Turning away she started to walk to the Police Box behind them. "You are needed one more time before you leave. Be sure to be there Uncle."

By the time Jack was back on his feet and turned around, both girl and TARDIS were gone.

X Fiery Twin X

Unknown Place – T-minus 57 days

"Dreams are funny things, don't you agree? Sometimes they lie to us and sometimes they don't. But either way they tell us what we already know." Scribe looked pointedly at the Dark. The man was standing just outside the circle of light that enveloped her and the two other women. "Care to tell me yours Eldest?"

"But you already know them, don't you Elder Twin? So why should I tell them to you?"

"Because they are different from mine." She smiled. "Because mine tell no lies and yours always do." The man was suddenly nose to nose with the young Time Lady. His dark eyes matched her own. "Are you afraid Eldest?"

"What makes you think I'm afraid Elder Twin?" His voice came out as a hiss.

"Because you are a coward Eldest." Moving around him she looked over his shoulder at the two confused humans. "I know where you were when the Crucible fell. I _Saw_ all of it."

Glancing over his shoulder at Scribe, he started. She wasn't there. Turning in a circle didn't reveal her. "Where are you Elder Twin?"

Scribe's voice floated out from the darkness. "I'm still here Eldest. I'm just exploring."

"What's there to explore?"

She entered the circle of light directly across from him. "You."

With a sneer, he turned and vanished into the darkness leaving the smiling Scribe behind him.

X Fiery Twin X

A gray and red figure lay, wrapped in the swirling violet of the Vortex, listening as the child Joy spoke with her injured sister Sorrow. Their voices were quiet enough that he couldn't make out just what they were saying. He could however hear the concern that permeated their words.

"Why don't you join them?"

He started and looked up to see a gilded figure standing to his side. Standing quickly he bowed. "I dare not my Lady."

Verity smiled sadly at the younger one. "They would welcome you, child."

Red eyes rose to meet silver ones. "I do not feel that they would."

The mists hiding them from the others were pushed aside as if by a sudden wind, revealing them to the two sisters.

"Why do you not let them decide that for themselves? They are as much my children as you are. Their hearts are much the same as mine." She placed a hand over the center of his chest. "Your hearts are just the same as theirs." Tipping her head to one side she studied the sorrow that filled her eldest child's face. Taking him into her arms she let him feel the love that she had always felt for him, even when she had thought him lost with Gallifrey. "Long have I missed thee. For you, War, are as much my child now as you were then." Waving the two girls over she held Salin tight, unwilling to let him leave her side. "These are your sisters."

Both girls bowed slightly to him, confused expressions on their mirrored faces.

"This is your brother, Salin. He was once lost." She pushed him forward towards the twins. "He is returned to us."

Sardit was quick to embrace her elder brother, while Valencia held back unsure.

"But what of his bonded?"

Sardit looked to her sister, "Does it matter? What the bonded does or not, does not reflect on him. Just as Scribe's actions do not reflect my choices."

Verity nodded. "That is true my daughter, however we must know how he fares." She looked into her son's eyes. "What of Dúrdhor? Has he fared well over the many years?"

Pulling away, he bowed his head in shame. He didn't want to tell them what he knew of his bonded Time Lord. He didn't want them to know what the Teacher's father had done.

Seeing the reluctance in his eyes, Verity nodded in understanding. _He _had brought this sorrow to her son. Dishonor, rather than the honorable death that they had been assumed to have faced. "Ah. Tell him that I wish to speak with him." She held up the medallion that the Captain had given her. "And take this. Tell Dúrdhor that his brother would speak with him as well."

Taking the small medal that held his name, Salin bowed. "As you will, my Lady." Touching a hand to the chains on her wrists, he released them and the ones on her ankles. "My sorrow and dishonor are yours to punish or not, as you will my Lady. Your freedom and my hearts are yours."

Touching a hand to his cheek, she nodded. "It will all be decided later War. For now do my will and perhaps forgiveness will someday be yours."

"Thank you." With that he faded away, leaving the three female spirits to themselves.

X Fiery Twin X

AN2: Dúrdhor means dark brother in Tolkein elvish. To find your own elvish name slacknhash .net /elf_name_generator .php is a great site.


	24. And Will

Time's Heart: Fiery Twin

A Doctor Who Fanfiction

Rating T

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, Torchwood, or any corporate entity mentioned herein. Original characters are available for use with permission.

AN: Oh, this last semester was tough, but I got a 4.0. YAY! I'm going to try to get the last couple of chapters out here in the next week or two, and get everything wrapped up. I've got plans for a third part to this in the works, but I'll definitely be getting this done first. So, banana's for all.

X Fiery Twin X

"_Before the new year he will die."_

"…_do my will and perhaps forgiveness will someday be yours."_

"_Oh that's good. Fantastic that is. Twenty minutes to save the world. And I've got a post office and it's Shut!"_

X Fiery Twin X

Pete's World - Christmas 2020

Snow covered the small lawn in front of the Victorian era brownstone that was home to a retired Torchwood agent and top-ten recording artist. Boughs of pine and holly decorated the windows and a matching wreath was on the bright red door. Number 16 was well lit for a party, if only it's owner felt the same.

A year and a half he had been there, with no word from the other side. No word about how Jack went on or if Gwen and the baby had survived. Rose always said, 'It's okay. Time just runs different, is all.' he wanted so much for that to be the truth of it, but he knew it wasn't. He knew that they thought he was dead. He knew because that's what he'd think about Jack if he weren't known to be immortal.

Tosh kept saying not to worry, that the twins would call soon. That he and Rose would be able to go home soon. He wasn't so sure. He couldn't say when he gave up. When he had found out that he was pregnant, or the day he gave birth to his son. But somewhere he had.

A single tear slid down his cheek as Ianto Jones-Harkness, placed the last gift under his brightly lit tree. It was one of two gifts that would remain unopened. It was a tradition that Rose had started years ago, and that he had picked up the prior year.

His friends would be coming round in just a little bit, so everything had to be ready.

Putting on the radio he sighed, the song that had greeted him, was one of his own. If he wasn't singing he was with his son. Mabon Harkness was his light. The only thing that kept him going on many days.

The front bell rang, bringing him from his melancholy reflections. Opening the door, he smiled as Rose peeked out from behind a tower of presents, a bag hanging from each arm. "Happy Christmas."

"Need any help?" He held out a hand as the tower wobbled.

"Nope. Just point me in the direction of the tree."

Laughing softly he watched as she gingerly navigated around his living room to get to the tree, where she dumped the contents of her arms into a disorganized heap.

"There done." Turning to her host, she grinned. "Is that turkey I smell?"

He nodded, "With cranberry dressing."

Rose sighed blissfully. "Your secret is out."

"Which one?"

Rose giggled, looking like a kid with a hand in the cookie jar. "That you are a gourmet cook." She motioned towards the stairs. "Can I go check on the baby?"

Ianto nodded. "Yeah, he should be up soon. He was stirring when I checked on him a little while ago. If he's awake, you can go ahead and bring him down."

Rose bounced and took off up the stairs quickly, but amazingly quiet given how fast she was moving. Barely a minute later the bell rang again. This time it was Tosh, Owen and their two kids.

A few hours later, everyone was well fed and were sitting around the living room sharing their Christmas toasts, while the older children played upstairs in the media room.

Pete smiled as he raised his glass, "To another year where we don't lose anyone at Torchwood."

Everyone nodded, as Jackie rested her head on her husbands shoulder. A sad smile was on her lips as she raised her own, "To seeing my grandkids again."

"Here here."

Tosh and Owen smiled brightly at each other before Tosh quietly spoke, "To our new baby girl."

Laughs, hearty handshakes, and hugs took up the next few minutes as Ianto escaped the cheerful scene to hide in the kitchen. He stared out the window as the merriment continued without him. They knew what he wanted. Jack.

"Everyone's ready to open gifts. Coming?" Rose asked quietly when she came in a few minutes later.

Sighing he turned away from the window and nodded.

Seeing his bright eyes, she knew that he had been crying again. "Well first gift is for you anyways." Putting her arm around him she whispered softly into his ear. "We're going home soon. Amser called me this morning."

A genuine grin touched his lips as a grateful sob caught in his throat.

That night was Ianto's happiest since the rift had spit him out in Pete's World.

X Fiery Twin X

_Nii eh't g'nin'nin'geb ereh't saw Emit. Eh saw enola. D'na neh't eno yad ereh't eh't Krad and T'hgil._

_Yeh't erew ylimaf._

_Emit saw yp'pah, eh saw ton elona._

_Tub neh't Krad emaceb su'ola'ej fo eh't evol Emit dah rof T'hgil dna oos eh det'tol'p ot t'ruh meh't._

_Tub neh't emac eh't Children fo Emit. Dna eh't tseg'nu'oy fo meh't emac otnu Krad dna dias, 'Od u'oy t'naw s'senip'pah?'_

_Eh deil'per tah't eh't ylno dehsiw rof evol._

'_Neh't tel ym s'traeh dna s'ru'oy taeb rehtegot sa eno gnieb. Sa fi ew erew niwt snus. U'oy l'liw reven eb enola niaga.'_

_Ret'fa hcum though't eh tel sih s'traeh tpec'ca reh._

_Mrof neh't yeh't erew sa s'niwt. Dna Krad emac ot ecno erom evol T'hgil and Emit dna lla fo s'Emit ner'dlihc._

(Translation)

In the beginning there was Emit. He was alone. And then one day there can Krad and T'hgil. They were family.

Emit was happy, he was not alone.

But then Krad became jealous of the love Emit had for T'hgil and so he plotted to hurt them.

But then came the Children of Emit and the youngest of them came unto Krad and said, 'do you want happiness?'

He replied that he only wished for love.

'Then let my hearts and yours beat together as one being. As if we were twin suns. You will never be alone again.'

After much thought he let his hearts accept her.

From then they were as twins. And Krad came to once more love T'hgil and Emit and all of Emit's children.

X Fiery Twin X

"_We will sing you to sleep."_


	25. Suffice

Time's Heart: Fiery Twin

A Doctor Who Fanfiction

Rating T

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, Torchwood, or any corporate entity mentioned herein. Original characters are available for use with permission.

AN: One more to go…

X Fiery Twin X

"_We're going home soon. Amser called me this morning."_  
_A genuine grin touched his lips as a grateful sob caught in his throat.  
That night was Ianto's happiest since the rift had spit him out in Pete's World._

X Fiery Twin X

Theta lay in the snow shaking, scared of what was coming. He didn't want to change, to end. This form was his favorite. He had made some of the best friends of his existence with this face. Fell in love, more deeply than he'd ever thought possible.

A soft hand touched the back of his head and a larger one his arm.

"Come on up ye get."

"It's time to go."

He shook his head as he pushed himself up. Two pairs of hands supported him as he staggered. Lifting his eyes he started, shocked to see Jack standing next to Ood Sigma, his beloved Susan on the Ood's other side.

"Come on Doc, can't be that bad right? You might even get ginger this time."

"It'll be all right Grandfather. I promise."

Theta nearly fell again hearing their words. Gently turning him, the twins helped him towards the waiting time ship and the two blonds standing to either side of her doors. Once again shock poured through his changing veins. For there were the oldest and youngest of his children. Dúrdhor's eyes were now crystal blue and contained a peace he had never had in his younger years.

"I've a new name now Father, since I'm not in the dark anymore."

"Yeah?"

The younger Time Lord smiled softly. "Illuminarius."

"Mouthful."

He shrugged. "You always did say that I was a handful."

Jenny held open to doors as the twins released him to go on alone. "I'll see you soon Dad."

Turning sharply he staggered. Jenny was grinning at him. "What do you mean?"

Jenny just kept grinning as she closed Verity's doors. "Who do you think introduced me to Theseus?"

Staring at the closed doors for a moment, a thought entered his head, that too clever head of his. "You knew."

_Verity _brightened the interior lights briefly in her version of a shrug. Tugging at him mentally, she pulled him to her controls. She knew that this one was going to hurt. He had put it off too long. And she was the one likely to pay the price for it. But, she reflected as they shifted into space, that was her burden to bare for having chosen such a vibrant child to be her bonded.

. . .

"Geronimo!"

. . .

'Oh dear.' was _Verity_'s only thought as they started plummeting back to Earth.

X Fiery Twin X

A light persistent knocking on the front door finally drew the devoted rugby watcher from his seat with a groan. "Of all the times to interrupt. It's a special Christmas match you know." His muttering was interrupted by a louder knock. "I'm coming."

With a few more muttered curse in Welsh, he unlatched the door and opened it just enough to stare at the bottle blond woman standing on his front stoop. "What's it you want then?"

With a small smile the woman nodded, "Are you Rhys Williams?"

"Aye."

Pulling a small mobile out of her purple jacket's pocket, she handed it to him. "Expect a call the day before New Years eve." She turned and started to walk away.

"Wait. Who are you?"

Turning to look to look back at him, her brown eyes dancing, Rose replied, "A friend of Ianto Jones."

Looking down at the phone, Rhys couldn't help but be confused. "But…" When he looked up the woman was gone, nothing but the wheezing sound of an engine carrying on the wind to mark her passage.

… Four days later the phone rang.

X Fiery Twin X

January was bitterly cold in Cardiff, but this year Jack didn't notice. This year he didn't have his Ianto to whine to, or curl up with. This year his grandson wasn't there to give presents to, or to build snowmen with. Earth had become a graveyard. Even the Doctor was gone, changed again. Looking up to the stars he waited, Gwen should be arriving soon. A lonely tear broke through his defenses as a cold breeze caressed his cheek. "Goddesses I miss you."

The sound of a car engine dying drew his attention down to the bottom of the hill. Gwen and Rhys were headed for him. Rhys fell back as the now heavily pregnant woman marched up to Jack.

"Hello Jack."

"You look good."

Gwen let out a little laugh. "I look pregnant." she sighed knowing full well why her friend had called her here. "How were your travels? Are you going to stay now?"

Jack shook his head. "No. I've been all over the Earth, it's just… it's turned into a graveyard. I can't come back. Not yet. The only reason I stayed this long was Scribe."

She nodded, not really expecting a different answer, though she had hoped. "Where will you go?"

He gestured to the sky. "There's a freighter just waiting for my signal to go."

Scribe's words about some things being meant echoed through Gwen's mind as she started to cry. "Then you'll be needing a couple of things." Pulling Jack's vortex manipulator from her pocket, she smiled wistfully. "Found this in the rubble. Indestructible. And something else." She motioned Rhys forward. When he reached her side, he handed Jack a plain brown leather rucksack. "It was in the vault leaning up against _Sardit_'s doors. It was the only room left intact."

"Gotta love Time Lord tech." Jack took the bag from Gwen's husband, before stepping back. "How'd you know this was for me?"

"The tag. Wasn't hard to figure out."

Reading the tag had Jack nearly in tears again. In Ianto's neat script it read '_Iti anwylyd. Always, Ianto.' *(for you beloved)*  
_

"I think he meant to give it to you as a Yule gift." Gwen stepped up to her friend. Taking his arm, she fastened the thick band of his vortex manipulator onto his wrist. "That's better."

Rhys scowled fiercely at the immortal. "You better visit. Can't have the baby wondering where her godfather is, now can we?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah." He shook hands with him and hugged Gwen one last time. "Time to go." Hitching the rucksack higher on his shoulder he keyed in the sequence to transport away.

As the light from his transport faded, Rhys hugged his now weeping wife. "Don't worry he'll be home soon. Ianto won't let him stay away for long."

"Ianto?"

"Rang a few days ago. Said he'd be home within the week."

Wrenching herself away from her husband, Gwen slapped his arm with all the strength she had. "Why didn't you tell me that he was alive?"

Rhys held his hands up in defence. "He told me not to. He said he wanted to surprise you and Jack. I think that he'll be mad that Jack left though."

"You should have told us."

He shrugged. "No worries. He'll be back. Ianto said if Jack left to let him. Said he'd come running after he got his presents."

Gwen stared at Rhys for a moment before shaking her head and stalking off to the car. Rhys just shrugged. Oh, the things he put up with for his wife's coworkers. Shaking his head with a small smile, he joined his wife in their car.

X Fiery Twin X

"That should do it." Tosh's voice come from nowhere as the screen on the tiny vid player lit up to show Ianto seated in front of a white wall.

"Is it on?"

"It's working now." Tosh paused. "Mabon don't touch that."

Ianto smiled softly as he stared out of the screen. "Hello Jack. Umm, Happy Yule or Christmas. Never did quite figure out which you celebrated, if either. But Happy Yule anyways." He paused, tipping his head as he looked behind the camera. Rolling his eyes he straightened his head. "Sorry. This is a music video journal, that Owen, Tosh, and a couple of other friends helped me put together. There are about thirty seven or so tracks, that I know of. And, umm, you can blame the Hamster Dance on Mickey. He seemed to think you'd like it. Anyways Tosh…"

"Mabon don't chew on the cables."

"Tosh is having issues. She was a big help getting this together. I swear that she has one of the largest music libraries of anyone on this planet and probably several other ones. Owen says hi. He's waving from the door."

"Ten seconds."

"There's a special track near the end, or middle. Twenty-two. I think you'll like it anwylyd." Ianto smiled brightly just before the screen faded into the first track, Voodoo Child by the Rogue Traders.

X Fiery Twin X

Jack bobbed his head along as he lay the little iPod on the bar. Lifting his glass of hyper vodka to his lips, he was startled to see a note stuck to the bottom. Pulling it off, he read the carefully written words. _'His name is Alonso.'_ Looking around he was confused to see the Doctor staring sadly at him from near the door. With a sigh Jack realized that it must be time for his friend to change. It was sad thought, though he had been there with the others not more than a month prior. A quick salute and his adopted brother was gone.

Glancing at the young human to his left, Jack realized that this must be Alonso. Popping an ear-bud out, he turned more fully to see the sadness on the other man's face. "Care to tell me about it?"

Alonso looked up to see a very handsome man looking at him with sad blue eyes. "I'm sorry?"

Offering a hand Jack repeated his question. Well if the Doctor had pointed him out then he must need help. "I'm the Captain."

"Alonso." the young man looked down quickly before looking up again, "Captain who?"

"Just Captain. You know like the Doctor."

Alonso blushed. "Oh. You know him too?"

With a grin Jack ordered two more drinks. "He's my brother." Leaning in like he was telling a great secret, Jack whispered. "And let me tell you, I think he's insane."

The young man laughed startled.

"I mean have you seen some of the stuff he's done. And of course he's got the Goddesses own luck, rarely a scratch on him."

By the time he left Alonso giggling his head off in his hotel room, Jack had realized that the Doctor was right. Sometimes all you need is a friend.

Putting his ear-buds back in Jack began the long walk back to his own rooms across town. Pushing play he was startled to hear his own voice. As a tear slid down his cheek he smiled. Ianto always had liked it when he had sung to him, and 'Heaven' always was his favorite song.

X Fiery Twin X

AN2: This is a real play list, you can find it on YouTube under this story's title 'Time's Heart'


	26. Fire and Ice R Frost

Time's Heart: Fiery Twin

A Doctor Who Fanfiction

Rating T

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, Torchwood, or any corporate entity mentioned herein. Original characters are available for use with permission.

AN: Thank you all for reading this story. It's been a long run I know, but a good one I hope. I am planning on doing more in this story line with some of the characters that I've introduced. But for now here is the final chapter of Time's Heart : Fiery Twin. 11 meets tree… "Early days yet. Steering 's a bit off."

X Fiery Twin X

_Try to leave a light on when I'm gone  
__Something I rely on to get home  
One I can feel at night  
A naked light, a fire to keep me warm  
Try to leave a light on when I'm gone  
Even in the daylight, shine on  
And when it's late at night you can look inside  
You won't feel so alone_

_- light on - David Cook_

X Fiery Twin X

The deep pulse of a bass reverberated through the wooden floorboards of a trendy London-esque club on a planet that the Doctor had assured Amy was very human friendly. Of course, the Doctor had abandoned her by the bar to go off with someone that he had recognized. Rory had also left for the dance floor, leaving her alone next to some guy who looked like he should be in WWII, except for the very modern iPod he held.

"Hard to believe that they're not human."

Amy was startled when the man next to her spoke. "What?"

Brilliant blue eyes met her own, a soft smile easing the lines in his face. "The band Muse."

With a blank look, the ginger haired girl stared at him. "Who are you?"

"The Captain."

"Just the Captain?"

Jack laughed, delighted with the Doctor's latest companion. "Yup. Same as my brother."

"Brother?"

Amy's jaw dropped when he pointed to where the Doctor was bouncing up and down next to the stage. "The Doctor. But he's never mentioned you."

"How long have you known him?"

Her chin went up, "Since I was seven."

Jack nodded, "But how long has he known you?"

Amy blinked. She had no idea. She knew that he had said that he was still cooking, but not how long he knew her.

Understanding, Jack pointed out into the crowd. "You see the ginger haired girl dancing next to the Doctor?"

"Yeah."

"Watch."

Amy turned away from the Captain, in order to watch the Doctor. At that moment he appeared to be having an intense conversation with Rory. After a bit of finger shaking on the Doctor's part, Rory nodded and moved to the girl's other side. The girl appeared to have no idea what was going on. Between Rory and the Doctor several men were shooed away from her.

"What are they doing?"

Jack laughed. "Protecting her."

"Who is she?"

"My niece."

"And mine." A soft Irish lilt startled Amy away from Jack. A dark haired woman now sat to her left. "So who's the kid dancing next to Sarah?"

Jack laughed. "Which one?"

"Well obviously not Dad. The other one."

"Rory?" Amy looked confused between the two of them.

"Ah, yours then." Scribe shook her head bemused. "Got to admit I do like the new look. School boy meets tweed. Where'd he get them by the way?"

Amy laughed at this. "Stole them from the locker room at the Hospital."

"Again? Well that's Dad for you." Scribe reached past Amy to hand Jack a note. "When you have a minute." With that she turned and left with a swish of her red coat.

"That was odd." Amy pointed to the note in Jack's hand. "So what's that then?"

Taking a quick look at the note Jack laughed. Showing it to the young human prompted another laugh at the confused look on her face.

"Call Mom?"

"Yeah. Hers not mine." Sighing the older man folded it up again and put it away in a pocket, after he noted that it also had 'track 22' written on it. Raising a hand, he flagged the Doctor over.

Theta seeing Jack trying to get his attention, tripped and fell into Sarah, she promptly bumped into Rory. The three landed in a jumbled heap on the floor. Theta started to apologize profusely to the two younger beings.

Sarah glared at him, picked herself up and flounced over to her laughing uncle. "What a klutz."

"What more do you want? I already said sorry."

With no warning Sarah hauled back and slapped him across the cheek.

"Oh my god." Amy stared at the other girl in shock.

Theta rubbed his stinging cheek. "It's no problem really. It's not the first time I've been slapped by one of the women in my family. Won't be the last either."

Sarah's face paled as she realized just who it was that she had hit. "Granddad?"

He nodded, "You'd make Jackie Tyler proud." He winced. "And Donna."

Slipping off the stool, Jack clapped a hand down on her shoulder. "Sarah meet the latest incarnation of your great-grandfather."

With a hand on the Doctor's arm Amy quietly spoke. "You never mentioned that you had a family."

Theta shrugged. "It's been a busy few weeks."

"Few weeks?"

"It's all relative anyways."

At her glare he clarified. "Time is not a straight line. I regenerated about ten minutes before we met, so my family wasn't the first thing on my mind. My ship had just crashed and was burning. And then there was that crack in your wall. And Liz 10 and Starship UK and the Pandorica. And then the running from the Angels, Dalaks and whatnot and River was there and it all ends up getting sidetracked. So, really it just never really came up."

"Never came up?" She stared at him in disbelief while shaking her head. "I asked. Right after we got to Starship UK." A stern look from the Doctor caused her to pause. Even though she had many more questions she knew from the look that he had given her that she would get no more answers. The Captain instead was the one to answer her.

"Look. It's nothing personal. We've has some tough times this last century that we're all not really ready to talk about." He sighed, thinking about how lonely his adopted brother was. At least his love wasn't dead. "After we call our Lady, maybe a few of your questions might be answered." Theta's raised eyebrows prompted him to clarify. "Scribe popped by to deliver a note. We're to call Lady Bad Wolf."

Relief flooded thorough Theta at Jack's words. With the differences in the way time worked between the two dimensions he had only been able to talk to Rose on a hand full of times. Any sort of news was more than welcome. With his relief came a sudden thought. "By the by, how did Sarah end up with you then?"

"Physician dropped her off. Said he had an errand to run. Why?"

"Curious. Let's go call her then shall we."

X Fiery Twin X

-Cardiff - New Years Day 2011-

The sound of _Verity's _engine brought the group standing in the rebuilt Roald Dahl Plass to a sort of attention. Smiles adorned all of the faces, but the biggest was on the face of Ianto Jones. He had waited more than two years for this day.

"Dada?"

"Yes Mabon, he's come home."

Ianto had to keep himself from running when the door of the just arrived phone box started to open. His heart briefly dropped when Theta popped his head out. Upon seeing Ianto he grinned and pulled his head back in. a moment later Jack was pushed out by Theta, his back turned to the waiting crowd.

"But Doctor they're here for you, not me."

Theta pushed the slightly taller man a few more feet away from _Verity _with a huff. "Turn around."

"Why?"

Catching Ianto's eye he grinned again. "Track 22."

"What?"

He laughed, "There's someone here to see you."

"Hello Jack."

The blood drained from Jack's face as he turned to face the younger man. There was little difference between the man standing there before him and the one who had died in his arms in Thames house. His face was a little fuller and there was a barely noticeable scar where a gash had once been on his cheek, but otherwise the hair, clothes, and voice were the same.

"How?"

"The rift. After the explosion, it spat me out in Pete's World."

"He's your Ianto Jack, I promise." Theta said softly. Stepping around his brother he ran a quick scan with his sonic screwdriver. "Right down to his dimensional signature." Looking Jack in the eye he nodded. "Emit loves his children Jack. This is a gift." He smiled as Jack took his love into his arms. The sound of a throat being cleared drew his attention away from them.

And all anyone could do was watch with smiles on their faces as the Doctor broke into a run.

"Rose!"

X Fin. X

If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumb'red here While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream, Gentles, do not reprehend. If you pardon, we will mend. And, as I am an honest Puck, If we have unearned luck Now to scape the serpent's tongue, We will make amends ere long; Else the Puck a liar call. So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends.

-W. Shakespeare 'Midsummer's Night Dream'


End file.
